Compendium
by LediShae
Summary: After South America nothing is the same. The Turtles must learn to live with each other again, and face a new threat that has the power to change everything.
1. Nightwatchers

I own nothing, sadly enough. All rights belong to Mirage Studios and Nickelodeon.

This is based on the TMNT 2007 film with a lot of assistance from the 2003 cartoon series.

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><p>Nightwatchers<p>

Raphael paced through the lair and fumed. Leo, right now he hated that guy. Him with his smug leader face. The eldest turtle had changed since he returned from South America. Two years of playing the hero had made him so smug. As Leo told it he had done _exactly_ what he had always railed Raph about _not_ doing: Rushing into battle, being seen, using too much force against the bad guys. Raph had done all that as the Nightwatcher, and for what? Constant belittling from Donny, anger from Sensei, loss of respect from Mikey, and when he returned, Leo railed him for 'endangering the family' for 'going against Splinter's orders'. It seriously pissed him off. And today, of all days, an early June storm raged topside that had everyone locked inside and locked underground with his bros and father all silently ignoring him.

Oh he was angry, worse than angry he was livid. Here he was biting at the bit to get topside to blow some steam, where he wouldn't have to listen to Leo lecture him for how long he spent at the punching bag, for not doing more katas, for causing strife within the family. He seethed. No matter what he was never good enough. He worked so hard to make the Nightwatcher outfit and when Donny finally saw it, he never said a thing. There was no praise for ingenuity, no ideas on how to make it better. Nothing.

"_You were running around in this? You're either braver or more foolish than I thought."_

Don had looked disdainfully at the metal plated leather, overlooking how much effort had actually gone into it. Not caring for the many deep score marks from bullets and knives, or the half melted patches from flames and explosives. There was only disdain, and it hurt. Raph had at least expected a comment on his ingenuity at least, but apparently he was expecting too much.

Mikey still worshipped the Nightwatcher, finding an artist's rendering and tacking it on his wall like a poster. Mikey had all of his superhero posters signed. Silver Sentry, Zippy Lad, Nano, Nobody, they had all signed their posters for him. Each had left a witty reply acknowledging Mikey as a fellow hero. Yet Mikey had never come to him. He had only discovered it a few days ago and Mikey told him he had had it for _months_. Leo had been back for only a week and a half and he'd had it for _months_?

Sensei still admonished him for his anger and aggression, even now when he was working so hard to control the ever present rage. Splinter pushed him harder in meditation and chi exercises, earning himself Leo's anger at being excluded from such exercises. It all came back to Leo. Leo who had been gone for two years, Leo who had come back and tried to shut him down without even attempting to see what good he had been trying to do.

'Why can't anyone see that _I_ am the good guy here?' How many times had he asked himself that as the Nightwatcher? How many times had the citizens he had tried to help fled from him disregarding the fact that he had just saved their asses from crooks and gangs. Raph stilled mid step and glanced at the empty dojo. Splinter and Leo were in Sensei's room talking. Don was in his nook working on his IT job he had kept for making enough money to cover the necessary expenditures to keep the lair running. Mikey was in his room, creating the newest rendition of the Turtle Titan. Raph sighed; his entire family was here, so why did he feel so alone?

Don still couldn't look at him. Don, the incredible stretching turtle, he and Leo had been the same height two years ago, now Don was nearly half a head taller – and Leo was so _proud_. Raph sighed and finally abandoned the battered punching bag. He entered the dojo and began the most difficult set of katas he knew. Just to vent some extra steam he strapped weights on his arms and legs, working through the movements in slow motion, relishing the way they made his muscles scream as he fought against his own body and gravity. This pain was real it was stable, like the concrete beneath his feet. It reminded him of what really mattered, and right now, that was remembering to breathe and to focus. He lost himself in the slow dance of movement, in his mind's eye every day of the two years Leo was gone replayed themselves, reminding him of everything he had messed up. As the rage burned to fuel his straining limbs, the anger faded and a new emotion welled.

Remorse and regret were two emotions he was very used to and very good at ignoring. They were everything he refused to be, always looking forward he charged head on into his life. Yet here where only the here and now existed and nothing beyond his movement and form, he was forced to feel all two years of regret he had buried, all two years of remorse he had pretended didn't exist. The cold weight of his buried issues coming to the surface filled his chest with an icy chill. He buried what he refused to face, forced himself to forget what he could not accept. Now, though he could hide no more. With the kata only halfway complete he could already feel his anger draining away, leaving only the regret to fill the void where his family used to be.

As the welling of emotion filled his chest and gut, straining against his plastron like a physical force, he wound to the end of his katas, and as reality took over from the haze of focus he felt the dampness trickling along his face. Tears, silently streaming down his beak rolled and fell to the dojo floor. He took a deep breath and paused, inadvertently looking into the full length mirror used for studying their techniques, seeing a turtle he had never seen before.

The reflection showed a calm, sorrowful red masked turtle, tears streaming down his normally angry face making tracks through the sweat. Body quivering with the recent exercise he looked on the verge of an emotional breakdown yet continued to stand strong. His stance was proud regardless of the weight of his burdens which though great still was not enough to bring him to his knees. The eyes were remorseful, showing weakness that hid in his heart, a weakness Raph really didn't want to think about.

Behind him the door slid open slightly softly groaning upon its hinges. The noise from the mostly closed doors startled him, spinning and standing in ready pose he nearly gaped when Mikey finally opened the doors, eyes wide as if he had just seen Santa Clause.

"Wow, you really were him, you were really the Nightwatcher." Mikey grinned nervously, eyes wide with silent awe of his elder brother.

"What are ya talkin' bout Mikey? You already knew I was." Raph sighed, here was his little brother staring at him like he had three heads, while his tears were still trailing down his face for all to see and he was spouting off about the Nightwatcher of all things.

"Dude, you never showed it. I mean – I, well, ever since you came clean about it I've been looking for signs in you, but they were never there. Raph stands with defiance, aloof and proud but surly. You know? The Nightwatcher, though he's super cool! He stands as if he knows where he stands in the world. He's strong, and proud, but more wise he's seen the dark side and survived. Today, bro you're the Nightwatcher again. So, um – can you sign my poster?" Mikey asked with his biggest smile.

"Dufus." Raph growled and tossed the weights off and scrubbed a dry towel across his face, pretending the tears had never happened. "Got a marker or somethin'?" Mikey whooped and raced up the stairs to his room all smiles and hyperness. Raph suppressed a grin, the moves had helped, but he still couldn't face bein' all smiles. It wasn't in his nature and it rubbed against the raw edges of his emotions buried too long to be able to feel properly.

Raph was still standing in the dojo, contemplating the many thoughts spiraling through his head when Mikey reappeared moments later. Raph set the poster upon a workbench and stared at it. He had never really looked at it before, but he was depicted as being very buff, strong with a violent air about him, the full body armored suit gleamed in the yellow of street lights. His chain weapon with the weighted ends hung from loosely clenched fists, trailing to lie almost harmlessly at his feet. While his shoulders held strong, they slanted as if he bore a burden too great to bear alone.

The poster's purplish black background seemed to mock him. What would he write, what could he? The Nightwatcher had been a farce, a lost soul's attempt to find his place in the world when his home had been torn apart and turned upside down. Finally he uncapped the marker and scrawled his signature across the bottom

To the Turtle Titan

- Nightwatcher

Raph looked at the forlorn scrawl wishing something smart or witty would come to mind, that just once he could be good with words, but then resigned himself and caped the pen handing both carelessly back to Mikey.

"Wow" Mikey breathed. "I've got the _only_ signed poster of the Nightwatcher!" Mikey's exhilaration was nearly infectious as he bolted to go brag, but somehow Raph only felt emptier.

Mikey had been impressed with the poster, not the brother. The brother who had gone out to bash skulls night after night, trying to keep the streets safe, trying to protect his family from the enemies Leo had left behind. Only he just kept endangering them. He could have been tailed; he could have made a mistake. Raph sighed and left the dojo, unable to withstand his own thoughts anymore, or the temptation to bash the stuffing out of his punching bag, regardless of what Leo might do.

He walked stiffly from the dojo, striding to cross the lair to his room his thoughts still spiraling and the once faded anger resurfaced now that he could see that Raph and Nightwatcher were two very different beings in Mikey's worshipping eyes. Raph could never compare, forever doomed to be in the shadow of his own self deception.

"Um, Raph?" Raph halted mid step and looked to the dark silhouette in Don's workspace. "I was wondering, would you be willing to work with me on a project, please?" Raph felt like blowing his brother off. They had lived in tense silence for months, neither too comfy with the other and here he was asking _him_ to help with a project. He wanted to laugh in Don's face, but something in his brother's hesitant voice stilled his sarcasm, he merely nodded, noting the sudden relief as Don relaxed his shoulders as if he had been expecting the sarcasm and the harsh words Raph barely held at bay.

"Where to?" Raph asked, voice harsher that he anticipated from his previous workout, causing Don to flinch.

"Uh, we need to get to the workroom." Donny slid hesitantly to walk beside his brother, still not quite comfortable being the closest in height to their living power house. The two walked in stony silence to the new workroom, a spare alcove where Don kept his larger projects. The workroom was between the hangar where they kept the copter and the garage, fitting perfectly within the junction of the tunnels that accessed their vehicle storage areas.

"Sorry." Raph groused into the silence, startling Don motionless at the sudden and unexpected apology.

"For what?" Don asked totally bemused at where his brother's mind was.

"Fer makin yer life miserable while Leo was away. I know ya did yer best, ya did more than Mikey or I coulda done. You had yer job, trainin', Mikey's party service and my tempa ta deal with and I know I wasn't much help." Raph never looked back to his brother who had stilled one step behind him, instead taking Don's silence as a cue to keep going on and strode to the workroom, leaving Don to gather his thoughts before he rushed to catch up with Raph.

Don stared after his brother bemused and sighed, the one he really wanted an apology from wasn't talking and it wasn't like Raph had been anything other than his usual self. Raph protected others so when they had been forbidden to fight for the year that Leo was gone he had done the only logical thing for him; he had found a way to protect the people of New York.

"Raph, wait; I'm sorry too." Don hurried to his brother's side, almost stung when Raph neither slowed nor stopped while he was talking.

"What do ya need to apologize fer Don? You were chosen to lead in Leo's absence and ya did what ya could. I acted alone an widout ordas so it was my fault we was so strained, not yers." Raph replied calmly, still trying to still the rising anger in his chest.

"For lying to you." That got Raph's attention, the raised brow ridge was question enough to prompt Don to continue, this time somewhat appeased that Raph had finally stilled. "I was mad when you finally told us that you had been the Nightwatcher. At first because I could only think of what Leo would say and ended up sounding just like him. Then it was because you had left us in the dark. I can understand you not wanting Sensei finding out, but not even us? What if you had been hurt up there, we would have never known. So when you showed your suit to me all I saw were the bullet holes. I was terrified. You had hidden the Nightwatcher from us for almost two years, how many wounds had you hidden as well. I was so angry I never even thought – I." Don clenched his long fingers into fists, staring at the ground and sighed, trying desperately hold back the still present terrified fury at Raph.

"Thank you, for doing what no one else had the courage to do. You faced the entirety of the New York underworld alone while Mikey and I were pretending to be normal, and as close to human as we could. That took guts." With a grateful smile Don turned, hiding a smirk at Raph's stunned face and led the rest of the way to the workroom in silence finally leading Raph to a covered area.

"The Nightwatcher ensemble you made was amazingly well built. I counted thirty bullet marks. I don't know how many there really were from all the hammering the metal took from you pounding them out constantly. When you showed it to me I kinda freaked and I don't think I managed to say what I wanted to. You were crazy and reckless to go out in something that relied on layers of welded steel to keep you safe from bullets. But you were extremely brave to go out there anyways." Don smiled at Raph, a glimmer of admiration filling his eyes as he lifted the cloth covering his project as Raph stared in stunned silence. There before him was a more streamlined version of the Nightwatcher suit, four of them to be exact each with its own battery pack fueling communications, lights and eye cameras. The suits were all black only with narrow stripes of their colors designating which suit belonged to which turtle, despite the greater difference in height between the brothers.

Raph swallowed with difficulty and stared at the suit with the bold red stripes along the pecks and shoulders, noting its larger size and how the dark red made it more imposing amongst its duplicates. The narrow stripes drew the eyes away from the turtle shape, highlighting the similarities in their physique to a human's. "Ya made us Nightwatcher suits?" He finally asked dumbfounded that anything he might have come up with could have been used by his genius brother.

"Well, sort of. I made them more streamlined, waterproof, rust proof and now they are made up of lighter weight Kevlar. I had Mikey tag along on a dumpster dive outside of police headquarters. They throw out the damaged vests, but the Kevlar was still salvageable so now we have better light weight protection against heavy fire." Don said humbly, attempting to hide from the lime light as usual. Raph swallowed a grin. Right now he was reminded of why he loved his brainy brother, he could take any number of bad ideas and make them work, and still act like they were someone else's achievements. Though he could still see the slight glow of pride Don wore like a medal of honor.

"I need to see how they fit, care to try yours on?" Raph flashed Don a lopsided grimace. Don grinned hugely, it was easy for strangers to take Raph's half grimace as a threat, but it was really a small lopsided smile that was seen rarely if at all these days. As his big brother turned to the suit Don silently wondered when Raph had lost his wide shit-eating grin, he hadn't seen it in a few years now.

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><p>Leo sat stiffly, listening and desperately wishing he could tune out the one hour, forty-six minute and thirteen second long lecture from his sensei. Truly, he knew he had messed up in staying in South America for so long however Sensei seemed to find fault in everything he'd done since he had come back and Winters had been defeated.<p>

"… You seek to lead your brothers without actively trying to be with your brothers. In the past being the leader and the brother blended seamlessly. Now you allow the two roles to strain against one another like two people attempting to fill one space.

"My son, this cannot continue you must find a way to reunite the brother and the leader into one person." Splinter looked upon Leonardo with concerned loving eyes and sighed. "It is time you learned to be with your brothers once more, dismissed." Leo bowed and left, feeling dejected. Raph was supposed to get lectured at, not him! He practiced, he trained, he listened to his brothers. What did Raph do?

"Wahoo! Cowabunga!" Mikey's ecstatic cries filled the lair from the work room, drawing Leo to investigate. There were his brothers, all of them. Mikey was on his skateboard working the half pipe while Raph was sparring with Don, all three in streamlined, tight fitting Nightwatcher suits. Leo felt his blood boil, what had Raph gotten their brothers into this time?

He strode to the workroom, ready to tear into Raph when Don paused the sparing match and pulled his helmet off, turning to a nearby computer. "Raph, can you strike any harder? These suits are barely showing any impact at all and I need to be sure that they can handle battle scenario stresses." Don asked as he typed madly at the keyboard drawing up schematics of his bio-readouts which showed the few well landed blows in glowing yellow.

"Ya sure Donny? I been holdin' back like usual, what with bein' the Nightwatcher fer so long I kinda built up some extra strength." Raph hedged warily, his strikes were hard enough now that Don usually showed some response, which was normally being flung into a wall.

"Yes Raph, I'm positive. I need you to attack me full force." Don confirmed without looking up. Raph strode over to Don and tore his helmet off stiffly.

"Ok, but if you go flyin' the bouts off. I ain't takin' down my own brotha protective body suits or no." Raph ground out causing Don to smile,

"Just do it already." Raph hesitated before finally slipping his helmet back on and stepping away from the fancy computers. Once Don had replaced his own helmet Raph attacked, giving each blow more power, still refusing to pull out all the stops.

Leo watched as Don's bio-schematic displayed brilliant blossoms of light yellows and oranges at first then red and finally magenta, yet still Don stood up against the assault still fighting. Leo looked on in surprise, this wasn't Raph's idea? This was Don's? His mind whirled and suddenly what Sensei had been trying to say became clear.

'Everything that has gone wrong since I came back I've blamed on Raph. He should have supported Don better, he should have toed the line more while I was away, he should have listened to me once I returned. Yet how many times has he bailed me out? He's always been there, after our fight he's been trying to be a better brother, I'm the selfish one here. I'm still so used to being able to call my own shots and work alone that I haven't given any of them enough credit.' Leo looked on the fight between his brothers and paused, blinking rapidly at what he saw. The bio readout was completely crimson from the impact of Raph's fists. Each blow at near lethal strength, yet Raph was still holding back, the unusual stiffness in his shoulders testimony to how hard he was keeping himself in check, only putting forth as much as he felt Don could take.

Leo slipped around the battle to get a better vantage point when he saw a fourth suit, identical to the others except for its shoulder stripes, they were his blue. Leo swallowed thickly and tugged the suit on. He found the battery switch inside the shoulder just above the curve of his shell. Fliping on the power he advanced, ready to finally remember how to be a brother once again.

"Hey Don, need a breather?" Leo asked approaching the pair. Raph flinched at his call, any comfort the tallest had gained from the practice bout vanishing in an instant. Leo forced himself to stay still, calm and not to look away.

"Well, actually if I could analyze the data as it is collected I should be able to spot weaknesses within the armor immediately and have to rely less on computer analysis." Don replied his smile audible in his voice.

"Ok," Leo took a ready stance facing Raph. When Don was ready he signaled them to begin and Leo flew at Raph determined to see just what his brother was hiding. While they had been fighting the stone warriors he had been too busy to notice, but ever since then Leo had noticed a stiffness in Raph shoulders signaling that he was holding back, refusing to let loose his full strength, even against Don. That had Leo curious, just how powerful was Raph anyways?

The pair met with a clash of steel on steel, each deflecting and attacking with lightning speed. Mikey quit the half pipe instead watching his brothers' clash, finally noticing what Leo had seen earlier. "Dude, Raph's been holding back on us." Mikey gawked at the sparring match.

"I know, that's why I let Leo take over. If he can get Raph riled up enough we can see how strong he is and test how much abuse these suits can handle." Don stared in rapt fascination at the suit readouts. Raph was hitting with enough force that a blow straight to the sternum would result in instant heart failure, and still he held back. Yet the suits were absorbing the impact, dispersing it along Leo's plastron and shell to keep the blow within non-lethal limits. Leo received about a tenth of the impact directly. Don and Mikey watched in stunned silence as both Leo and Raph attacked each other with ever increasing force, the greater difference in their heights forgotten. Leo held nothing back, giving the bout his all while the tenseness in Raph's shoulders slowly lessened though it was still there as he attempted to land a full blow on his much shorter, and more fluid moving brother. The two pushed each other harder and as the bout drug on they found themselves for the first time in their lives truly able to pit themselves against each other with no fear of hurting the other.

With flying kicks, blocks, jabs and body slams the brothers fought each other, fighting till sweat stung their eyes saturating their masks. The two never stopped and finally they pushed themselves beyond proving their capabilities, beyond proving where they stood with their skills, finally all quarrels slipped away, until only the thrill of the fight remained. In those moments where only the thrum of adrenaline through their bodies existed and the displaced sting of impact Leo and Raph locked eyes, their old quarrels addressed and set aside, finally seeing in each other the truth of their actions.

Leo smiled a true smile as had not been seen since his return, even Raph smiled a huge grin, neither seen but each other felt them, the slight change in posture transmitting their sudden joy as loudly as if they had announced it with a megaphone. Leo dodged, feinted and slipped in under Raph's punch slamming his fist under the stronger turtle's jaw, sending him flying only to find himself shooting backwards in the opposite direction from a violent kick to his plastron Raph had landed before being flung out of range. Raph fell to the far edge of the sparring mat while Leo was flung violently against the far wall, armored shell impacting the concrete wall forcefully enough to leave a small impact crater. Each heaved massive panting breaths, neither quite capable nor yet willing to get up.

"So, did you get enough data?" Mikey asked Don casually, ignoring his collapsed brothers.

"Yeah, and apparently Raph is nearly five times as strong as Leo, so about twice as powerful as Hun. As for the suits, as long as we don't start raking them with shuriken we should be fine. They'll hold up to just about any street fight against humans. We'll get some protection from Triceraton weapons and most of the larger alien species that we have encountered. We'll just have to be careful around shotguns and blades." Don replied absently as he entered his information into a fighting simulator to determine its exact strength.

"Donny, we fight wid blades, the Foot use blades and most of our enemies use 'em, don't that kinda defeat the purpose here?" Raph asked as he finally heaved himself to his feet and moved to get Leo out of the crater. While Don was calm, Raph could not help but suffer controlled panic that he had hurt his only big brother.

"Well, until I can rig a way to develop a type of wet lab and safety precautions, we're stuck with this Kevlar. The wet lab will give me the ability to recreate the Triceraton body armor after some experimentation and research. Their defense technology is greatly advanced from Earth's, however with so much of their technology left behind I should be able to rig something up soon." Don replied absently as he studied the scrolling numbers coming from the simulator somehow understanding their meaning while his brothers just looked at the wizzing screen in confusion.

"Don, can you save this and pick it up later?" Leo asked after finally regaining his breath while leaning against Raph's strong arm.

"Yes, why?" Don looked at Leo who had begun peeling himself out of his suit.

"It's getting late and I still owe Mikey a match of Smash Brothers." Leo replied with a smirk at the gawking faces that stared at him.

"Geeze, guess I hit 'im harder than I thought." Raph joked and the four slipped from their suits, and away to the living room beginning a four way battle that would decide who ordered the pizza.

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><p>Splinter strode from his room to investigate the yelling coming from the living room. He smiled wryly at his sons' antics. The four were piled up on and around the couch seemingly on top of each other laughing, yelling and hollering at each other and their characters upon the screen as they mashed buttons, playing a game together.<p>

"Kids," Splinter just shook his head, remembering a time when all four could sit on the couch with room to spare between them. Now, Leo, Don and Raph squeezed together on the couch with Mikey on the back all roaring as they play-battled. Listening to his sons he made some tea in the kitchen knowing that all too soon their troubles would return and then these precious moments of calm between his sons would vanish, but for now life was good. Splinter thought about returning to his room to continue his meditations, but thought better of it, deciding to join his sons and take part of this rare moment of peace before the TV. Taking his favorite chair and watching the battles between his sons. The evening progressed into night, the battles becoming increasingly shorter and more intense though no less fun, even drawing Splinter into rooting for a particular character never quite certain who was playing who, but enjoying the show none the less.

It was late when Raph finally ordered the pizza, the brothers pleasantly surprised by Splinter's request for a cinnamon dessert pizza. The four willingly obliged. "Rememba Sensei, ya gotta eat yer veggie pizza or else ya get no dessert." Raph joked earning a slight tap on his shoulder for the taunt from his father's walking stick. The old tap on the head now was something Splinter could only do when his largest son was seated. The evening was calm and joyful the small family retiring for the night still content and happy from the sudden respite from the tension that had become a constant in their home over the past two years.


	2. Black Jade, Liquid Gold

I own nothing, sadly enough.

Contains mild hints of homosexuality, some kissing and breaking and entering.

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><p>Black Jade, Liquid Gold<p>

Glowing red the darkened space slowly brightened as the shadows melted back into the furthest corners to reveal the many workbenches and instruments of the research lab. The many hidden lights embedded within the ceiling and walls kept the room a bright yet eerie bloody crimson. Along the back of the lab rows of translucent energy sphere cells held unconscious specimens floating in stasis liquid. The many alien and mutated species unconscious and still save for the occasional bubbles rising from their breather masks.

"Stockman, are the spider-drones ready yet?" a dark, grating voice asked. From the furthest workbench a monstrous arachnid robot stood, turning to face the speaker, upon the arachnid's metallic shoulder's a holographic face appeared showing the dark skinned face of Doctor Baxter Stockman who merely rolled his holographic eyes at the repetitive request. The once man, now cyborg clenched his metal hands in impotent rage and injustice and sighed at having to continually use his unappreciated genius to serve the speaker's constant whims in searching to protect Earth from the nearly non-existent alien threat.

"Yes, my genius robots are fully operational." Stockman glared at his current "owner", Bishop. The man was as much a genius as Stockman himself, though Baxter would never admit it. "The anti-mutagen we received from our 'friend', when introduced to the Turtles will counter the mutagen within their systems and restore them to their original state. They will be easy to handle and easy to do with as you wish, as long as they suffer greatly." Baxter smirked looking down at the blue, glowing substance that resided in a glass canister held within his hard metal hand.

"Good, contact your 'partner' and relay our progress. This would not have been possible without his assistance. Then get the units ready for delivery. You will be personally responsible for delivering the specimens to me, unharmed and intact. Is that understood?" The speaker asked, voice full of thinly veiled malice warning of dire consequences should Stockman fail.

"Perfectly" Stockman grumbled turning his massive bulk around to once more check the readout of the synthesizing machine before him. Soon retribution would reach the Turtles and they would finally pay for all that they had done to him and only then would his vengeance be complete.

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><p>The lair was calm as the brothers kept busy in their chosen corners of the main room of their home. Michelangelo was playing his newest strategy video game, one that had actually given him some good advice on strategies and planning, for once giving Splinter the inclination to allow Mikey to play his games instead of practice with his brothers. Raphael continued to beat his over worn punching bag, pummeling the worn red bag to strengthen his arms and vent his ever present aggression. Leonardo as usual practiced his katas, working ever harder to perfect his form and skills. Donatello sat in his computer nook, researching ways to improve their home and his inventions, ever on his quest to use his strongest skills to keep his family safe.<p>

Splinter looked on from the kitchen where he sat enjoying an early cup of tea. Three months had passed since Leo had taken his first steps towards reuniting the roles of leader and brother, and today was looking to be a good day. His usually hyper and inquisitive sons had remained busy so far, and now that it was approaching their breakfast time he felt that it was a sign of a calm day ahead of them. Normally one of them would have to be reprimanded for unruly behavior by now if their days were going to become nightmares as they had been for so long while Leo was gone, and the first months after his return.

"Michelangelo, my son, it is time we had our breakfast, and today is your turn to cook." Splinter called above the din of the game. Mikey waved absently working to a save point then turned off his system and game, bounding in complete silence to the kitchen dancing and humming around his father as he set bacon and eggs on the stove and a pot of miso soup for Splinter. The others wrapped up their tasks, Raph disappearing from the punching bag to grab a shower after his workout before joining his family for breakfast.

"My sons, today we shall begin our advanced training in ki manipulation." Splinter announced as his sons dug in ravenously into their breakfasts. He smiled at the unanimous groans around mouths full of food, smirking at Leo who usually leapt at the opportunity to train in any manner. "Worry not today we shall pursue our training in a new manner.

"In Tibet there is a monastery where the monks have fused ki and fighting into one allowing them to create a barrier between themselves and their opponent to prevent an attack from ever touching them. Today we shall begin this new lesson." Splinter smiled brightly at the new interest shining in his sons' eyes.

"This is going to be totally awesome! We get to learn the ways of the Jedi!" Mikey crowed while the others just looked blankly at one another. "Oh, come on guys, didn't you know? Gorge Lucas totally took his cue for the Jedi's fighting style from the Shao-lin Monks of Tibet!" Mikey leapt from the table and bounded towards the practice area calling to his still seated family, "When do we start?"

"It is never a good thing when Mikey is actually anxious to start our lessons." Don sighed and cleaned the table swiftly. The remaining four tidied the kitchen quickly then joined Mikey in the practice area, all silently just as eager to begin as Mikey, each for their own reasons. Though the training was difficult, forcing them to manipulate ki without kneeling in meditation and move at the same time, the brothers were thrilled at the new challenge. As their training had progressed over the years they more often than not had to improvise with alternate fighting styles to challenge themselves with. This time it would be as if they were young turtles once more eager for their new lessons.

The day progressed and Splinter continuously pushed his sons to their limits, forcing them to work through multiple five minute rounds, each one pushing harder and harder, until finally after an entire day of intensive training allowing them to crash in near exhaustion in front of the TV to rest and relax for a short time before dinner, patrol and finally bed. As the brothers were finally catching their breath they all rose to begin dinner when from Don's workstation an insistent beeping arose, summoning the resident genius to his computer and away from the communal persuit of dinner.

"Guys!" Donnie called from his corner workspace as he stood and raced to the others where they assisted in various tasks in preparing their meal. "Guys, we have a problem," Don spoke up catching their attention, "we've got motion sensors tripping all over the tunnels. It's too systematic to be a random malfunction, someone is down here and they know where all of my sensors are located! Every one of them has been tripped! We are surrounded and they are headed this way!"

Leo glanced at Splinter who nodded his permission and the five moved as one to face this newest threat despite the tiredness that wore at their bones. Don, Raph and Mikey raced to the East tunnel to face what enemies awaited them there, while Leo and Splinter took the West Tunnel. Donnie looked about critically and pointed in silence to a thing moving along the wall. Raph growled once he spotted the small spider-like machine and set about squashing the many silvery forms that skittered along the wall before any protests could be voiced by Don.

"Raph!" Don sighed, this was typical of his brother, but he still didn't like it. With Raph's hot temper, extreme territorial streak, over protectiveness of his family and massive distaste bordering on phobia for bugs the spider bots wouldn't stand a chance, and Don would have nothing but sparking scrap metal to study.

"Keep yer shell on." Raph growled as he turned to Don, his face set in a fierce scowl. "Take it quick, 'fore I change my mind." Raph opened his hand before Don's face causing him to blink in astonishment at the partially damaged bot that lay twitching in his brother's hand.

Don swiftly scooped up the bot and sealed it in a jar he kept in his bag of tricks slung over his shoulder and led his brothers down the tunnel. The three swiftly followed the sparking trail of damaged sensors destroying any remaining spider bots they found. As they progressed they approached the familiar junction where the pipe split three ways, the way they came, the side that created a connection to the pipe their brother and father took and a third that connected them to the rest of the sewer. The tunnel before them sent chills down their spines, causing them to feel the skin on the back of their necks prickling in anticipation of the danger they knew was to come.

"Uh, guys," Mikey spoke up softly "my spidey sense is tingling!"

Leo and Splinter crept silently down the dark tunnel. Small spider-like bots were spotted and destroyed as they were found with only one being kept for Donnie to study later should more questions arise from this current and yet unknown enemy. Though from the shape and design of the bots, Leo was certain that Stockman was behind this, and if Stockman was involved, then Bishop was as well, holding the reins on the captive and mutilated scientist.

With senses stretched to their fullest, Leo looked to his left and noticed three figures silently moving towards them, heading straight for the side tunnel that led to the rest of the sewer and their topside access ways. Leo's heart sank; somehow they had to avoid that tunnel. A soft skittering slowly built from the branch, echoing and rebounding with the sound of thousands of metallic arachnids crawling along it towards the four brothers and their father. Raph tensed as his hatred of insects that ran so deep within him rose to the surface making it so that he could only hold himself in ready for when the uglies showed their nasty faces.

From the tunnel a dark wave of super sized spider bots poured into the space separating the two groups. Each robot was the size of a large house cat bearing a glowing blue abdomen, and similarly glowing fangs. Though ready for an assault none were expecting the misting blue silk the spiders spewed forth to coat all five in cocoons of blue-glowing light. Each struggled and strove valiantly to fight against the growing cocoons and sticky silk, yet all five were subdued, a fast acting tranquilizer rendering them unconscious just as a large mechanical shape stepped into view.

* * *

><p>Leo lie still, willing the drum line in his head to still, around him, as the pounding began to slowly fade all he could feel was the chill of early morning and the soft play of a cool breeze upon his face. The farm? He could not remember journeying to Casey's inherited farm outside of New York, yet the cool breeze and somewhat hard mattress beneath him told his bleary senses that that was where he must be. He loved waking up on the farm; it was peaceful, quiet – with the sound of sirens? That was not a sound from the farm. Groggily Leo forced one eye open and felt terror spike up his spine, forcing his eyes wide open and his breath to still in his chest.<p>

He wasn't on the farm; he was on the lower bunk of a bed in a large crowded room full of sleeping human boys. There were so many bunks the room looked like an army barracks from Mikey's comic books. Movement above him forced him to stir and shift closer to the wall at his back, holding his breath as he willed himself motionless and to blend in with the shadows. A pale head peeking over the edge of the top bunk revealed a young kid, maybe twelve at the oldest with scared blue eyes staring at him from a pale white face from under light eyebrows. His shaved head only added to image of nervous uncertainty making the boy look terrified in the dim light.

"Leo?" the boy whispered causing Leo to freeze and stare stunned and horrified at his baby brother's voice coming from this human child.

"Oh gods, Mikey?" The boy's eyes widened even further, the pale face paling further seeming to realize that this horror was not a nightmare and slowly nodded before flipping in complete silence from the top bunk displaying all of Mikey's natural skill to land just in front of Leo in the small space that separated their bed from the one across from them. "Wha – How?" Leo stammered as he sat up causing Mikey to give his signature care-free-I'm-scared-but-won't-tell shrug.

"Dunno. One minute we're spider bait, and the next? Whammo! We're a pair of skinny white kids far from home." Leo looked down at his hands blinking in stupefied shock at the glowing too pale skin and five-fingered hands that met his gaze. He should not have been so startled, he had been staring at his little brother in shock at his new form, but somehow his dumbfounded mind had not connected Mikey's state to his own.

A voice from the lower bunk to the right of theirs startled them into silence, "That blue silk must have been some kind of mutagen, transforming us further to look like humans. This whole thing was a trap. The smaller bots were sent to sabotage all or our technology and were the bait to lure us out while the larger bots were sent to hold and spray the mutagen." Another pale figure approached with too white skin and brown eyes, his slender five fingered hand rubbing the shaved head. Leo self consciously rubbed his own head and glanced at Mikey who mimicked the movement stiffly through nerves and sleepiness, only now noticing his bald head as well and feeling the skin upon his head bearing the subtle pores where the hair would eventually grow from. Leo shuddered, he was a turtle, a cold blooded, shell bearing reptile. Reptiles did _not_ grow hair.

"Ya know this is really pissin' me off." A rough voice grated in a harsh whisper from their left alerting them to Raph's approach. The other three looked swiftly to greet him only to stand stock still frozen, eyes wide and stupefied as they stared at their fourth brother. Raph was intimidating, his appearance for once showing the harsher nature he kept trying to keep a lid on. His head was shaven like theirs all were, except he had skin so dark it looked black, with his dark eyes gleaming blackly shining from the whites of his eyes and every word he spoke causing flashes of pristine white teeth to shine from his dark face. His whole stance spoke of his aggression, tension and violence, his face twisted into an ugly, fierce scowl that not even his lingering exhaustion from the tranquilizer could diminish.

"Wow, I know you feel like the black sheep, but isn't that kinda overdoing it?" Mikey asked stunned. Raph growled, sending his baby brother a baleful glare. "Can I stay here?" Mike begged turning to Leo his shimmering blue eyes destroying any arguments Leo had ready to counter his request.

Leo looked at his other brothers with a defeated sigh; they too were nervous and scared, as he was as well, only Raph hid it better beneath his angry expression. "Sure, we can all bunk together, if you want." Leo replied filling his voice with assurance he felt void of and left it open, trying for once to not order Raph around. Donnie looked pleadingly to Raph as he crawled onto the small bunk beside Mikey who also gave his best 'I'm so cute you have to do what I say' pleading puppy eyes. Raph of course, gave in with a frustrated growl about baby brothers and being forced to do what they wanted.

"Guys, I don't like this, but I'm too tired to deal with this. Just follow my lead when we get up, we must work together, be as one and preserve ourselves from all others until we can figure out exactly what happened to us and how we can fix this."

"Sure thing, Fearless, now quit with the speeches and get ta sleep." Raph growled lightly already half asleep. The others nodded off swiftly, their deep breaths serving as a calming balm to Leo's frayed mental state. He sighed tiredly finally allowing his eyes to close as his senses took in his surroundings. The bunk was tiny, six feet by three feet. No one could lie down, so the four sat with their legs curled and tangled upon the bed before them and their backs to the cold brick wall. Mikey leaned on Leo snuggled between him and Donny while Leo rested on Raph's shoulder and their tallest brother kept his head tilted back against the hard wall, each finding a comfortable position that would allow them some more rest before any more surprises could keep them awake.

* * *

><p>"Good morning boys! Up and at 'em, it's a brand new day and today we have lots of learning, exploring and chores to do." It felt like they had just closed their eyes when the lights were suddenly switched on and a man's loud voice hollered for everyone to get up. The four brothers were the first ones up somehow going from sleeping to on their feet ready for anything in a heartbeat without getting tripped by the tangled sheets. The man walked forward to the four new comers his voice carrying as he ushered the other boys out of the hall and into the shower room for morning baths. It was a rule in St. Stephens that no one shared a bed. One bed per person, no exceptions, but as these four were brand new, Richard was going to be lenient with them just this once. Though he did wonder why four boys so different from each other would bunk together. There was a history here and arrivals with history always caused problems.<p>

"It's good to see you four awake. You gave us quite a scare last night." The man spoke kindly to the four boys who stood in ready stance showing the world that they could face anything. The position of the second smallest boy standing in front of the others, closely flanked by the largest as they shielded the middle two made a single eyebrow quirk at the four.

"Where are we?" Leo asked standing straight and proud before the much bigger man. his stiff posture showing none of the shaky tiredness that made his heart race too fast in his painfully thin chest.

"Ah, forgive me. I am Richard Russell; the boys' councilor and head of boys' dormitory here at St. Stephen's orphanage. If you four would follow me, the resident doctor needs to check up on you to make sure you're all healthy. Then we'll get you some clothes and answers and then we have some questions for you. Follow me and I'll take you to the infirmary to get looked at."

"Yo, how'd we get here?" Raph demanded at Richard's back with his trademark suspicious glare, arms crossed and unmoving, Leo turned and scowled at his brother for aggravating the man before they could even leave the room while Don and Mikey looked at each other with concern.

"Come with me." Richard repeated steeling his voice against the obvious troublemaker, "We'll get all our answers in the infirmary." The four shared a swift nervous glance before wairily following the councilor out of the dormitory and through the hall. Leo felt truly weird walking in a t-shirt and boxers, his pale, sensitive bare feet cold upon the chilly tile. Their clothes felt stifling; as it was the most clothing they had ever worn to sleep in and at the same time indecent as it was the flimsiest and smallest clothes they had ever worn and felt immodest over their exposed human forms.

Several doors later they entered the infirmary to face a slim young man in a white lab coat, a clipboard in one hand and a fresh steaming mug of coffee in the other. "Morning Dr. Bates, here are our four midnight arrivals." Richard spoke up as he shut the door behind the boys, greeting the doctor warmly.

"Ah, thank you Mr. Russell. Would you stay? It would save time to get all of our questions and answers at once." The councilor nodded and took a seat in a waiting chair while Dr. Bates stood before the boys and looked them over. He turned to the apparent youngest and smallest of the group, guiding him to sit on the examination table. "Alright, I'm going to take your pulse, temperature and blood pressure, then we'll look you over for infections and lice. Then I will look into your ears, nose and throat. I'm doing this to make sure you are healthy." Dr. Bates explained warmly obviously taken in with Mikey's nervous face and small features. "What is your name?"

"Michaelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey." Dr. Bates grinned warmly at Mikey as he took the youth's pulse. He continued the inspection professionally, listening to pulse and breathing through the thin sleeping tee.

"Well, 'everyone calls me Mikey', you are a very healthy young man. I normally don't see anyone in such good condition in my offic." The doctor finished his preliminary checkup and progressed through each of the youths, somewhat worried at the highly developed muscles each had. With the two smallest and second largest boy finished he turned at last to Raph.

"Ok, young man your next. Name?" Doctor Bates looked Raphael over eyeing the much greater muscle mass and harsh expression the black youth bore. He felt intimidated by this youth, by all of them actually, though Michaelangelo and Donatello had such kind personalities that the discomfort swiftly vanished and Leonardo though intense in his personality, seemed very kind with his hazel eyes that seemed constantly filled with steel and caring at the same time. If he was not easy going, then he was something very close.

"Raphiel." Raph groused, crossing his arms uncomfortably as he sat gingerly upon the cold examining table.

"Well, Raphael, you are yet another fine and healthy young man. I am surprised, four boys in my office on the same day all equally healthy." Dr. Bates praised.

"A' course we're healthy, we've always looked out for each otha." Raphael replied harshly, glaring at the adults who seemed dead set on talking down to him and his brothers. Leo stalked fuming to his brother, cutting Dr. Bates off from being close to his current patient.

"Raph! We don't know these guys, so keep your mouth shut!" Leo hissed.

"Alright, since you four seem so healthy let's keep you that way and get you some warmer clothes." Dr. Bates replied absently, momentarily ignoring the angry interaction between the two boys, debating whether or not to intervene for now.

The two men shared a worried glace as they went to a back cabinet pulling out several worn boxes full of clothing and placed them on a side counter. The boys having a history together worried Richard, knowing that they had to be careful with the boys to avoid having major fights or worse runaways. "Here, I have some donated clothes from some of our sponsors. They're not the best, but they're clean." Richard held up some of the clothes for the boys. Much to their surprise, the four immediately descended upon the boxes, silently sorting and passing clothes without asking or bickering. Each boy choosing an outfit that was almost identical to each others, except that their t-shirts ranged from plain pale blue on Leonardo to solid crimson on Raph. None of their shirts bore the washed out innuendos or cuss words so frequently sought after by other boys their age. And surprisingly, there were no depictions of guns or other weapons. Most of the time the boys were assigned their clothes within the dormitory as few had an eye for decency. However Dr. Bates had thought that testing their moral nature by having them choose their own clothing would give them an insight into the brothers' personalities.

"May I ask, Raphael, why you did not choose the red shirt with the gun on it?" Dr. Bates asked curiously as he held up a much more fashionable shirt with black designs and a Bretta M92 emblazoned on the chest.

"Why would I want a stinkin' gun on my shirt? Do ya think that just cause I ain't as nice lookin as my bros here that I need a gun?" Raph demanded harshly, forcing the doctor to swallow nervously and look away from the teen with eyes far older than his years.

Richard blinked in stunned silence at Raph's response. The boy looked and acted like so many of the thugs they received here and yet he refused any connection to a thug's favorite weapon. "Alright, you four can get changed, and then we'll need to speak with the Headmaster and Dormitory Head and get you sorted out." Dr. Bates said as he sat down to annotate the boys' files in bemusement.

The four turned away from the adults, pulling on jeans over boxers and pulling off their sleeping tee's only to freeze at the sudden gasps filling the air from the two adults. Richard and Dr. Bates stared in horror at the boys' exposed scar riddled backs gape jawed momentarily, Richard racing to pick up Dr. Bates' phone to summon the Headmaster.

"What the - ! What happened to you boys?" Dr. Bates demanded as Richard spoke softly but hurriedly over the phone. He grabbed Raph's shoulders, feeling the boy flinch violently as he looked to a deep scar that stretched over from the left of his spine and across his ribs. 'Oh, that one, the maniac who thought I was some strange beast for disectin' back when we was just learnin' bout the Foot.' Raph thought to himself as he kept his mouth firmly shut.

"And you? Where did this long scar come from?" Leo was grabbed by the shoulders where the once long crack in his shell had turned into a deep scar that traveled from left shoulder blade to the center of his back. 'Great, the Shredder's final gift is still there and they're thinking the worst.'

"Uh, we like extreme sports?" Mikey put in lamely, wincing at his own excuse and praying to all the great comic book heroes that Raph and Leo wouldn't kill him.

"Mr. Russell, call the police! This is clearly a case of abuse." Dr. Bates demanded as he turned from his patients. All four boys' jaws dropping with stunned surprise.

"No one abused us!" Raph roared, dark eyes flashing as he turned swiftly upon the adults, furious that they would implicate their family. The four held still as the Headmaster, a foreboding man, of six feet with a military crew cut. His silver hair highlighting his gunmetal grey temples and steely hazel eyes strode into the ward.

"Mr. Russell, there will be no police as of yet. Dr. Bates, get a Polaroid camera and document these boys' conditions." The men followed their orders swiftly, never questioning their superior.

"Boys, I'm Anton Barkus, Headmaster of Saint Stephen's Orphanage. I assure you all, that everything we are doing is in your best interests. Now, do you four know how you got here?"

"No sir." Leo replied stiffly, standing before his brothers, Mikey and Don flanking him while Raph stood just slightly off to Don's side covering their softest brother's flank. Barkus, on the other hand felt his hackles raise. The boys were in an attack formation. His marine days may have been long over but the memories were still strong, and he could never forget the threatening moves he had encountered on too many of his forays overseas.

"And you know your names?" He asked stiffly, hiding the wariness from his voice.

"Yes," Leo sighed resigned to the questioning that he had no idea how to avoid in their current state, "I am Leonardo, and these are my younger brothers Raphael, Donatello and Michaelangelo."

"Very well," Head Master Barkus sighed wearily despite the early hours. He looked the boys over, not believing for a moment that the four were in any way related, but despairing that he had either a small gang or terrorist cell in his orphanage. "We need to know exactly how you four obtained these scares, and what, if any, kind of medical care you received for them."

Mikey looked worriedly up at Leo and Raph, hoping they or Don would come up with an idea on how to solve this little dilemma. "Sir," Leo began with his most authoritative air, his voice hitching in anger. "My brother was not lying when he said we like extreme sports. We can ride just about anything out there." Leo replied calmly, running with Mikey's timely excuse.

"Really?" Head Master Barkus asked dryly, completely unimpressed with the brothers' claims. "Listen, I can appreciate you four wanting to be loyal to whoever raised you and each other. I can also appreciate feeling overwhelmed here, however, you must tell us the truth, or else we _will_ call the police."

"Listen mista," Raph ground out, intimidating the much taller headmaster despite still being dressed in only jeans, "Our fatha ain't nevah harmed us. He's pulled our tails outa more messes than you could count, _and_ my bros ain't lyin'. You want us ta prove it, fine; give us some boards or blades. Anything with skis or wheels and we can ride it." Raph ground out, his eyes flashing with bottled up fury. Beside the furious teen his brothers were all nodding in agreement, each showing a similar fury to Raph's in their shimmering eyes.

"Fine," Barkus sighed with resignation. He had worked with similarly troubled teens before in his long career and knew that involving the police at this time would only create an impenetrable wedge between the boys and the workers at Saint Stephen's. "We will enroll you here as temporary residents and find you classes in the high school across the street. Then, we can start looking for your father, but if even one, I repeat one thing you've told us today contradicts itself or is proved false, we will call the police immediately. Understood?"

"You actually expect us ta stay here?" Raph demanded ignoring Leo's heated glare over Don's head.

"Yes, actually." Barkus replied coldly, "And I expect you to take part in the chores, do your studies, and there will be no sharing of bunks. No 'buts'" Barkus barked harshly rising from the desk and allowing the doctor to get photos of the boys' scars, then finally allowing them to get their shirts on.

"Well, I guess that this is my cue." Mr. Russell stepped forward to collect the boys, giving Barkus a worried glance. They had dealt with youths from the more violent gangs in the past, some of the more reformed kids still in residence. The last thing they needed was a gang war in their halls. "Come along guys, I'll help you get situated and we'll see about getting you into school later on." Mr. Russell stepped towards the teens and led them out of the cramped office to the empty halls of the orphanage.

"Man, where is everyone?" Mikey asked nervously sidestepping slightly to walk closer to Leo, slightly sheltered behind his brother's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mikey, they're all in the dining hall getting breakfast, then they'll be going to their classes. We have wards here from the youngest that will have her first birthday in a couple more months to our oldest boy of seventeen, and they all have full days here. Young Claire and the other children her age just get time to learn how to walk, interact and play. Those are their lessons. Schooling gets progressively harder from there." Richard replied with a teasing smile.

The group traveled swiftly through the main corridor passing the nursery where a small handful of infants and toddlers were cared for by a pair of young women in habits. The women seemed to glow in the presence of the children as they glanced through the window. Beyond the small room was the preschool where slightly older children played and learned the basics of reading and writing.

"How come there are so many babies without parents?" Leo asked, somewhat surprising their guide with his gentle voice.

"Most of them were the lucky ones. Their parents didn't want them and dropped them off at our doorstep in the night. They lived, the unlucky ones are found in rubbish bins and dumpsters tied up in garbage bags." Richard replied sorrowfully as he paused in front of his office, looking back towards the rooms for the little kids fondly before finally letting the brothers in.

"You mean that they're abandoned by their own parents?" Don asked aghast, "or killed?" He stared queasily into the distance, face blanching from horror of the thought of finding a plastic wrapped infant in one of his many dumpster dives.

"Yes, a few have been orphaned after homicides or accidents, but yeah, there are people who have no right having children. Most of our wards come from them." Richard watched in fascination at the emotional play across the faces of the four brothers. Raphael openly fumed at both their predicament and at the knowledge that anyone would willingly abandon or kill their own child. Leo become introspective as sorrow washed across his face, eyes seeking out his younger brothers. Don showed fear and sickness at the thought. Mikey, however became totally still, eyes huge until he shifted to stand closer to Don, the two clinging together in mutual comfort and fear.

"We have been very fortunate in our lives." Leo said gently finally looking at each of his brothers in turn, giving Mikey and Don gentle squeezes to the shoulder and each nodding in reply. "We will find him." The brothers took heart from Leonardo's words, each reacting much like a soldier taking heart from their commanding officer's words. The sight both heartened and terrified the counselor. These boys were that in name only, inside they were hardened adults.

"You really think that your father had nothing to do with you four being left here don't you?" Richard was amazed at the affection and loyalty that radiated from the brothers' towards their father. It was so rare to truly see a loving family these days, he knew without a doubt that he had to help these poor boys find any news of their father, though the sinking in his gut told him the boys had been blindsided by this, and their father was long gone.

"We know our father couldn't have left us here. You see, he was adopted himself, and he witnessed his father's murder." Donatello said slowly, hesitating to reveal their family's information. "He adopted us, and we don't know how we landed in his path, but he took us in. He lost his father, sir. That is why we know he would never leave his sons." He looked straight into Richard's eyes, his own worried brown eyes shimmering in the bright lights of the office.

"Alright, I will help you as much as I can." Richard sighed in resignation, "Now, do you have any other relatives that we can contact?" Richard looked from one solemn face to the next until Michaelangelo at the end suddenly brightened.

"Dude, we don't have any real relations, but there's always April and Casey. They would never leave us in the lurch!" Mikey beamed and the others smiled brightly at his idea.

"Yeah, we ain't got no one else besides our fatha, but ole Case and Ape are kinda like sibs to us, sorta like honorary family ya know?" Raph replied harshly, glaring around him roughly from his massive dislike of allowing themselves to just sit in the strange place and do as the adults wanted. Leo placed a calming hand on his shoulder to show him that he was not alone in feeling trapped in the large echoing orphanage that they might have to call home.

"Well, just in case you four get any ideas, they cannot take you out of here." Richard held up his hand to forestall the arguments upon the boys' faces, "However, you may call them. If they know anything about the whereabouts of your father, then they may be able to help him get you back. Either your father or a duly authorized family representative can reclaim you, and only if they have your official adoption papers." Richard explained carefully to the boys, watching their slowly paling faces with worry.

"We're never getting out of here." Mikey breathed softly in total shock as he unconsciously clung to Raphael's lower arm, his brothers similarly falling into horrified stupor at the news.

"What do you mean?" Richard queried worriedly, the brothers sighed with resignation and looked at each other at his question, uncertain how to begin to explain what the many secrets they had kept from the world for all of their lives.

"Fatha told us he found us, raised us from infants. He was an immigrant he had no one ta turn ta. I don't think he has adoption papers, we ain't nevah seen any."

"Okay, let me get this straight," Richard sighed and rubbed his temples at the continuing drama of the boys' plight. "Your father was adopted in a foreign country, yet he did not know to get adoption papers for you here in the States?"

"Well," Don hedged slightly looking to Leo for approval, only continuing after receiving a confirming nod from the eldest of the brothers, "It all begins with our Great-Grandfather. According to father's stories, Great-Grandfather adopted Grandfather off the streets after the end of World War Two. Grandfather was living as a pickpocket, until Great-Grandfather challenged him to take a coin from his hand. Most kids were too slow and Great-Grandfather could always move his hand faster than them. However Grandfather caught the coin." Donny stilled momentarily allowing Leo to take up the story.

"Great-Grandfather was a martial arts master, and he had used the coin trick to find an apprentice to whom he would make his successor. Great-Grandfather loved his son, and so when they found father young and starving sneaking into their house, they adopted him, Great-Grandfather urging his son to be a good father to the boy. They raised Father together until Grandfather, and father came here to New York. Great-Grandfather stayed in Japan. Then, not too long after, Grandfather was murdered. Father was distraught, old enough to take care of himself, but still lost. Then he found us and took us in." Leo looked away, his eyes gleaming with old memories as Mikey took up the story, relieving his eldest brother of the burden of their family history.

"Yeah, Father took care of us from day one. We were tiny little things. We could barely walk. He made us a home, taught us - protected us. Dude, we were so rambunctious, I don't know how he did it, but he's kept us alive for this long without losing his mind."

"Amazing, you four come from a long family history of single fathers taking in orphans. I have never heard of such a story before." Richard looked them over before finally standing and walking to his filing cabinet and digging up a fresh manila folder for their file.

"Alright, this will be your file. We will make one for each of you later. Now, first let's get in touch with this April friend of yours. If she knows what has happened to your father, then it will cut down on the amount of paperwork for me later. After that, then we can see about beginning a search for your father." The four nodded as Richard dialed out and entered the number before handing the receiver to Leo.

* * *

><p>April and Casey sat in stunned silence as they stared at the visitors in their living room. The pale skinned red-head shook her head finally as the news she had just been given began to sink in. She leaned forward and pressed her face into her hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs tears streaming between her slender fingers.<p>

"You gotta be kidding me!" The dark haired man at her side ranted as he held her gently. "The guys can't have been kidnapped; I mean they're ninja, right? How do you sneak up on a ninja?" Casey looked angrily up at the ten-foot tall crocodile that stood before them as Leatherhead sadly shook his head.

"This I know not. I only know that Professor Honeycutt and I heard strange sounds in the night, as if a swarm of insects was rushing through the sewers only to find nothing out of place, except for the Turtles' lair. Their door was wide open, and Master Splinter's walking stick was on the ground. We have scoured the sewers and have yet to find any trace of them. I am sorry." Leatherhead hung his massive head as Professor Honeycutt rested his metallic hand on the back of the croc's arm just above the thick wrist, reaching up as high as he could to comfort his massive friend.

"We will continue searching for our friends; we can only hope that we find them before anyone else does." The guests turned to leave at the stunned silence coming from the couple on the couch, accepting their position as little better than anomalies compared to the currently missing compelling quartet.

"Guys, wait. Thanks for, ya know, letting us know. We'll begin looking topside for more clues and let the others know, though without Mikey I'm not too sure we can get in touch with the Justice Force." Casey said in his rough manner as April finally pulled herself together.

"Listen, we'll do all that we can, just keep in touch. If we have lost the guys again, I want to know you two are alright." April replied. The cyborg and the croc smiled and nodded, all remembering the year long span where the turtles had vanished seemingly into thin air before reappearing as if nothing had happened, yet infinitely changed.

"Come on, babe, we gotta get moving too." Casey stood offering his hand to April to hold just as the phone rang, causing the four to still before April rushed to answer.

"Hello?" April asked, her heart beating despite knowing that the chance it was one of the guys was slim to none.

"April, it's Leo." April gasped causing the others to look at her worriedly.

"Leo! Are you guys alright? And how is Master Splinter? What happened, we've been worried sick!" April only paused as she heard Leo's brotherly chuckle and instantly calmed.

"We're fine, April. We're at Saint Stephen's Orphanage, don't ask, we woke up here in their dormitory. It's kind of like the time we asked you two to watch Don when he was sick, only not as exciting." Leo stated calmly, hoping April would get the reference to Don's mutation into a mindless monster three years ago. "I was hoping Master Splinter was with you. He's not here and we're really getting worried. We need him, April. Besides, only he can get us out here, and only if he has our adoption papers; think you can help us out here? Is there any way you can come down here? We could really use a familiar face about now." April sighed and rubbed her forehead worriedly. Leo's words did little to comfort her. The guys were in the dormitory? It was like when they had looked after Don? And, no one had called the cops, or the military. April paused, covering her mouth to smother the gasp of realization before it could be heard on the other end of the line. The guys had somehow been transformed into humans! From her time of knowing them she knew that many strange things had happened to the brothers, so she didn't question any further, and only hoped that they were going to be alright.

"Listen, LH and the Professor are here, they've been worried sick about you all night. I'll fill them in then I'll head over there." April replied worriedly.

"If we can ask another favor, we need to find Master Splinter, could you have Casey start looking for him?" April agreed saying she'd get her fiancé on it immediately and hung up turning to fill in the others before grabbing a taxi to Saint Stephens and the four guys in her life whom she valued as the brothers she had never had.

"Who is 'Master Splinter'?" Richard asked once Leo had hung up.

"Our Fatha." Raph replied solemnly, "Splinta nevah had much, so he taught us what he knew, using the family trade ta keep us outta trouble. He was Fatha during meals and at bed time. Anything outside of that, he was Masta Splinta." The four looked at each other, a silent communication racing between them.

"Alright, listen, we'll give you a probationary status, we will assume that you four were placed here temporarily by a family friend while your father is being found. Until then, you will sleep in your assigned bunks, attend school across the way and perform all assigned chores. As you are being given guest status, I expect you four to be on your best behavior. No fights. Understand?" Richard locked eyes with each of the brothers before finally opening the file folder to fill in their personal information.

"I can give your friends forty-eight hours to find your father, then we have to call the police to file a missing person report. They should be notified immediately, but you four seem anxious not to get involved just yet, so against my better judgment I'll give you some time. You just better hope that this Casey friend of yours comes through."

Richard looked the boys over finally able to get to the line of questions he had to go through before sending them off to the school next door. "Okay, well, until your friend gets here let's get through your paperwork. Today is March fifteenth, two-thousand six. Starting with the eldest of you four, I need your full name, age, education, medical history, and any allergies."

"Hamato, Leonardo. Fifteen, home schooled. As for medical history and that kind of stuff I wouldn't know." Leo offered warily. Richard nodded, it wasn't too unusual for kids to not know, remember, or care about their allergies or medical histories, after all many kids relied solely upon their parents for everything, even if they had terrible parents or were runaways.

"Hamato, Raphiel, Fifteen." Raph ground out with the hard edge of a captured soldier. Richard looked hard at the boy, his guts churning with worry at the hidden depths. Gleaming behind the black eyes a hidden darkness brewed, the boy had seen trouble from an early age, and with the closeness of the proclaimed brothers all the boys must have seen something in their past. Something that had aged Raphael, something that had brought his brothers down with him and Raphael did not seem like someone who let the past lay. He was definitely a boy soldier of the streets, one of the many statistics of kids lost in the ghettos and slums of the cities as surely as the poor children in other countries lost in their elders' political wars and power struggles.

"Hamato, Donatello, fifteen, allergic to iodine and penicillin and I am home schooled, but I have a good grasp of physics, higher mathematics and most of the core sciences. Leo's allergic to iodine and is a vegetarian. Raph has no allergies though he does not take shots well and prefers red meat at every meal when possible. Mikey is allergic to shellfish, he is a junk food junkie and his caffeine intake must be regulated or he becomes hyperactive." Don filled in the councilor who turned incredulous eyes on the most reserved of the four.

"And why do you know these details about your brothers?" Richard asked, suddenly getting a nervous shudder down his spine.

"Leo is our eldest brother, dude. He watches over us when Father isn't here. So Don keeps track of the many details that we don't pay attention to. Raph scares every one with his ugly mug and I as the cute one make everyone smile." Mikey grinned winningly at Richard earning a despairing shake of the councilor's head and a smile.

"Okay, your last." Turning to Mikey he flipped to the final page in his folder.

"Hamato, Michaelangelo, as in Michael-angelo," Mikey stressed the first part of his name, "Fifteen and the totally cool one!" Mikey snickered at his brothers' expressions of long suffering as each pinched the bridge of their noses as if warding off a baby brother induced migraine.

"Mr. Russell, a Miss April O'Neal is here, she says she is wants to see Leonardo." Sister Agnes from the administration office announced through the intercom, the sudden crackling of the speaker causing the boys to start, each shifting their weight to be able to leap from danger in an instant. Richard sighed and stood, knowing that he would have to make a full report to Headmaster Barkus after this, despite his misgivings about Raphael and Leonardo. Donatello was another concern. Could the third brother be a savant? And yet, he found nothing too unusual in Michaelangelo. Though, the 'youngest' of the four same aged boys was enough to give him a headache with his constant hyper activity and dramatics.

"Come on boys, let's go talk to this friend of yours." Richard opened the door and escorted the boys to the office, hoping the woman would not have any word on the boys' father just yet. The four were a strange puzzle and Richard, as a former military rehabilitation councilor for wounded vets knew that these boys had issues stemming from how they were raised and wanted to help them more than ever.

"Yo, April!" Mikey called excitedly once they entered the office, startling both women. April spun eyes wide in shock to look at the strange human boys with her friends' voices and eyes.

"Guys! You're alright!" She cried, the shock giving her a deer in the headlights look and filling her voice with nerves. She stepped forward hugging Mikey and Leo at once before engulfing Don in another and even receiving a small one-armed embrace from the reticent Raph.

"We'll let you all talk for a while, we have a side room for you." Richard escorted the group over to a side conference room before closing the door and sighing in exhaustion as he leaned against the doorjamb. "Is it time to go home yet?" Sister Agnes only shook her head in sympathetic mirth.

"Off with you, go talk to Barkus, I'll page you when they emerge." Agnes replied.

"I have a better idea. I can't get too much more from them right now, so just get them some uniforms and get them to their classes I'll schedule their exams for tomorrow." Richard waved to Agnes then turned to give the Headmaster an update, hoping his impressions of the boys was wrong.

* * *

><p>"Guys? Is it really you?" April demanded in shock staring at the four human teens before her once the door was shut.<p>

"Yes, April, it's us." Leo sighed before filling her in on their adventures since the night before.

"Okay, listen, I will work on making false papers for you, and legal documentation that you even exist. Just don't do anything rash, I mean it. Right now you four are human and our laws apply to you. I can't afford to have you arrested, or reported as runaways." April looked the guys over once more before fishing out her cell phone and snapping photos of each of the brothers to make fake ids with.

* * *

><p>Richard sighed and steeled himself as he knocked on Barkus' door, hoping against all hope that he had not read the boys right.<p>

"Enter." The Head Master's voice echoed through the wooden door, forcing Richard to quit stalling.

"I've made files for the boys, they're meeting with a family friend, an April O'Niel. I'll look into her background along with her boyfriend, Casey. She's here, Casey is apparently looking for the four's father.

"Sir, they are positive that their father had nothing to do with them being here. They are loyal and loving towards their father. I walked them by the day care room on the way back to my office. They showed interest and caring towards Claire and the others. They asked how they got there and were horrified to learn that any parent would abandon their own child.

"They also have a unique family history. Their great-grandfather was a martial arts master who adopted their grandfather off the streets with the intention to make him his disciple. They lived in the same house, apparently, and then the boys' father was found in their home stealing food. The two took pity on the kid and adopted him. Somewhere along the way the grandfather and father moved to the States, leaving the great-grandfather behind, and then their grandfather was murdered, in front of their father's eyes. The four are adamant that since their father witnessed his father's death that they could not have been abandoned.

"That is the easy part." Richard paused with a sardonic smirk at the disbelieving face Barkus was giving him. "I know, these boys have more secrets than men three times their age, and they are all the same age, despite their actions. Leonardo is unit leader, I use this term specifically as they act as a well trained military unit. Though they are not child soldiers, per se. They are more like an inner city gang with military discipline and loyalty based solely on filial piety, the Asian ideal of respecting parents and older siblings to an almost religious following.

"So, Leonardo is the acting unit leader. He guides his brothers, hands out commands, plans strategies and is looked to for permission when speaking of their family. Raphael is the acting second-in-command. He is also the brute strength and a type of guard to his family. Donatello is the apparent medical history keeper, and a seeming pacifist. He seems to look at things more analytically and serve as an advisor to Leonardo. Michaelangelo, however, I cannot understand within his family unit. Aside from being hyper, bouncy and acting as the child the others do not allow themselves to be he is otherwise normal. I'm not even sure he was ever treated as a fighter like his brothers apparently were." Richard stared into the far edge of the room, mulling over all of the information the four had given both verbally and by their actions.

"Then we are to assume that they are dangerous, have been treated as fighters by their own father, and that with their given penache for extreme sports that they could escape at any time on any given mode of transportation regardless of how improbable that vehicle may seem." Though it was a statement it was sounded as a question allowing Richard to put in his perspective on the idea.

"It would be wise to tread carefully around them, especially in anything that involves Mikey. The others are fiercely protective of him despite how much they tease him." Richard and Barkus continued to go over the brothers' case, looking for descrepancies in their stories that would allow them to involve the authorites earlier than planned.

* * *

><p>"Well, I hope you four had a nice visit with your friend, now you will please follow me and I will escort you to your new school." The nun from the front office stepped forward after the brothers had said their farewells to April. The middle aged nun walked with the four trailing nervously behind her as she went to a storage closet to grab them their school uniforms and donated back packs before leading them across the street to the massive catholic school and into the administrative office.<p>

"You boys will have to attend the St. Jerome Catholic High School across the street while you are here. I am afraid that you will be starting in the middle of the semester, but I'm sure that four such nice boys will have no trouble at all finding friends to help you catch up with your studies." Sister Agnes said benignly ignorant of the wide-eyed and incredulous stares the four were sending her.

"Sister Agnes," Leo asked hesitantly, "Is this an all boy's school?" Leo hoped it would be, the thought of having to share a room with many females was rather intimidating, and he knew the same applied to Don. They had only April, Angel and the few women of the Justice League to actually get to know, and while they were great people they gave them no real experience interacting with girls their own 'age'.

"No way bro!" Mikey piped up excitedly. "St. Jerome has the largest international student population of the entire city. It's like totally global dude." The boys glanced incredulously at their baby brother.

"Mikey, just how do you know all this?" Don asked nervously.

"Easy, they've been sponsoring the Junior Masters' Arts Contest every year since we were like six. The top winners are always published in the December issue of Frontline Comics!" Mikey explained easily.*

"Heh, and here I thought you had actually grown a brain!" Raph harped, "Don't scare me like that next time would ya?" Sister Agnes glared at Raph and shook her head. Leo was doing nothing for such taunting, Don was just sniggering and Mikey was actually beaming at his brothers as if he had just been praised.

"Enough, you four will follow me, and we'll get you set up with school uniforms. Since you will be staying for longer than just a few days you'll be put on the chore roster. So, I will need to know what kinds of chores you can do." The four shared nervous glances and followed the sister nervously. They would be in the orphanage for a while, maybe even a long time; they might end up running into complete strangers. Or worse, someone they knew.

"Good morning Sister Mary Rose." Sister Agnes greeted the nun in the administrative office kindly. The women exchanged their pleasantries before their guide introduced the brothers to the school nun who looked the four dashing young men over approvingly. Despite their shaved heads, the four had cleaned up nicely, their black blazers and dress slacks fitted them perfectly while the ties of pale blue and dark olive stripes of the school colors brought out their eyes. Each had a messenger bag slung over their shoulder, their assigned bags each identical. The four, except for skin color, height and eye color could have been cut from the same cloth.

"Mary Rose, these are our newest guests. This is Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael they are apparent quadruplets. They are the Hamato's. Head Master Barkus asks that you find space for them, they have only been home schooled so we have yet to see where they belong and if they can transition from the home environment to the school environment without issue."

Mary Rose smiled widely at the boys, she enjoyed the idea of close families, her own history being that of an orphan from birth and never knowing of a life outside of the church and school she served at. She glanced up at the clock which red just after nine o'clock and grinned mischievously, cheeks dimpling within the confines of her habit. "I know just where to put you four, please follow me. I'm sure Mr. Russell will be along shortly with your paperwork." The nuns said farewell and Mary Rose took over leading the brothers to their classes.

"I have several classes open for additional students. I'll have you four in the same classes for now. Though, tomorrow we can look into getting you better situated if the classes are not suitable." The four headed into the science wing, into a Mr. Stein's physics class. "We believe all students are capable of greatness and that applies to you four as well. I hope you four will enjoy yourselves" Mary Rose smiled up at the boys and knocked on the door, announcing them before entering the teeming class that stood and sat in groups over newly assigned projects.

"Attention! Everyone, we have new students. These four are the Hamato quadruplets, Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Donatello. I hope you will welcome them to our school and help them in any way possible to catch up and feel welcome." Mary Rose smiled, nudging the four in before turning and leaving the brothers to the class.

"Yo, what's up dudes and dudetts?" Mikey asked grinning hugely, earning a few waves and snickers from the class. Don waved nervously as he tried to hide behind Raphael who only glared at everyone while Leo bowed slightly in greeting.

"Well, as I know a bit about brothers, I'll have you four split up, one to each of our study groups." Mr. Stein directed, sending Mikey to a group of students who could acclimate to his hyper attitude and could play the catch up game if the boy needed it. Leo was sent to the group that was the most diverse, he seemed to be fairly understanding of differences between cultures, if his little bow was any indication. Don was sent to the unfortunate group who held the least talent and Raph to the last group, one with an eight year old girl who had been taking advanced classes since she was three. Regaining his students' attention Mr. Stein continued the lesson in basic physics and sent the study groups off to begin their projects.

The morning passed swiftly as the brothers wandered from class to class, the day passing as different students took turns guiding the handsome foursome to their next classes until lunch finally rolled around. With no one to guide them, and finally left on their own the brothers skipped the cafeteria and the large screaming mass of students to enjoy their rare chance to walk in the sun without fear of attack or persecution. The boys hung to the shadows as they entered the large field behind the school. They stalked in silence, each watching in their own manner the many students upon the field. Finally reaching a deserted corner they stared in stunned awe at the school yard before them, the new environment beckoning them to see what life as a human could really be like.

Mikey immediately looked to a far corner of the field where a bunch of boys, blazers tossed to the side, ties off and sleeves rolled up, were doing tricks and jumps on skateboards and blades, practically drooling at the chance to show off. Don looked to the library steps where a cluster of more intellectual students gathered in the warm sun to share thoughts and ideas, papers and notes in abundance as the many forms were practically on top of each other pooling their thoughts on current ideas and topics. Leo noticed another cluster of students doing mock katas and meditating in the sun most had their blazers off, ties hanging loosely about their necks or off completely. He was fascinated at the many techniques displayed. Raph however, noticed too much of everything his brothers missed. A fast paced game of hoops was on at the courts the dingy looking blazers and rumpled shirts marking them as lower class, or poor kids here on a grant from the city, on the fringes cards and dice were hidden from monitors' view as money and other small items passed from hand to hand as bets were won and lost. Few of the boys on the court were well to-do, the clean cut, neatly dressed boys all gathered inside with the indoor hoops.

In the far field a quick game of football had developed. Again, most of the kids were shabby looking; only here girls in their pleated skirts and blazers crammed themselves in the bleachers, their skirts pulled high up on their thighs, blazers open and shirts unbuttoned showing the diversity or lack of undergarments beneath.

The katas were done by a very mixed bag of students, the majority bearing the glowing skin and fancy clothes of the upper classes while the nerds Donny was drooling over were all mostly trim and painfully detailed in their dress, though a good portion of them looked worse than the kids on the outside courts, yet their dress did little to deter them from being accepted into the intellectual debates.

On the other side of the courts several kids were break dancing to a loud mp3 player here their uniforms were ragged, baggy and dirty, showing the kids from the worst part of town. Raph just shook his head, a growl rumbling in the back of his throat. He had been the Nightwatcher, protected the city from criminals, gangs and thugs and yet, here where everyone were just kids the seeds of the darkness to come were already growing. He could see too many with the tattoos of gangs along their arms under rolled up cuffs and the backs of their hands. It was the streets all over again.

"Dudes this is so totally awesome! I'm gonna see if I can grab a board." Mikey crowed, vaulting off to the skate yard, already loosening his tie while Don walked proudly to the library steps to see if their conversation was worth joining.

"Raph," Leo said quietly, "We're going to be separated, and you know that. They will give us entrance exams tomorrow. We will all take the same one. Don's a genius, he - he will most likely skip to college without even needing to look at St. Jerome's again. Raph, we're too different here. I don't know who will be closest to whom, but I need you to look after Mikey. He won't take this very well." Raph nodded absently, knowing that Leo saw him as being closer in intellect to Mikey, but still being thought of as being on the lesser end of the intelligence spectrum stung more than he could let on.

"Take care of Donny." Raph replied bitterly his voice rough and strode off to the bustling courts, knuckles cracking as he readied to join in the game, forcefully if necessary. Leo glared at Raph's retreating back and shook his head. He hoped Raph would not resort to violence on the heated courts and that his brothers wouldn't get into too much trouble.

It took less than twenty minutes before voices started calling across the field and everyone was hurrying over to the skate park. The entire school was showing up to witness the baddest skater they had ever seen. Mikey was flipping, doing both horizontal and vertical seven-twenties like he was standing still. He was faster than anyone had ever seen and he just wouldn't stop. Mikey flipped through a half pipe, swerved on the recovery and breezed over a rail. His board wobbled only slightly as he landed and regained his speed heading straight for a wall which he promptly jumped up and boarded horizontally for the entire length of the thirty foot wall flipping backwards off his board and catching it neatly under his right arm as he landed, only to crumple as his foot landed on a loose rock, twisting painfully as he went down.

"Mikey!" Donny cried and raced to his brother's side just as Raph and Leo leapt down in unison into the sunken skating arena and raced to their brother's side.

"Yo, you ok?" Raph asked in his usual rough manner, standing over Mikey with arms crossed, glaring as if furious causing the many spectators to hold their breath while the more nervous ones ran off to get a monitor and Dr. Bates. Don knelt at Mikey's side looking at the throbbing ankle while Leo squatted on the other side looking Mikey over for any other wounds.

"Oh man, wipeout." Mikey pouted as he shook off the fall, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Raph," Mikey pinned his best pleading eyes on his roughest brother, "Could you get the mother hens off of me, Bro? Please?"

"Sorry, baby bro, Donny's got ya back." Raph smirked. "He gonna be okay Brainiac?" Don smirked at Raph, with their day being so strange and the fear of losing Master Splinter still raw in his heart, hearing the nicknames gave Don more comfort than he was willing to admit, leave it to Raph to help them regain their footing when times got tough.

"Yeah, Mikey, it's just a twisted ankle, we've had worse just try not to put too much pressure on it." Don stood and stepped away, pulling Leo with him as Raph crouched, grasping both of Mikey's hands in one of his, lifting him up without effort. The crowd gasped and stared at Raph's display, the many basketball players who had slurred him on the court suddenly feeling their throats constrict nervously, each wondering how strong the dark skinned brother really was, and if they really wanted to find out.

"Thanks bro, I owe ya one." Mikey smiled winningly up at Raph who supported him with an arm around his shoulders helping to take the weight off his leg. The four began to walk back to the school looking to get Mikey into their next class before the crowds interfered only to be stopped by Dr. Bates as he rushed over to see how badly injured their newest additions were.

"Raph please, just get me out of here!" Mikey pleaded, shimmering blue eyes tugging at Raph's only known weakness.

"No can do, if I try that Fearless will kick my shell inta next week, no way." Raph growled just loud enough for Mikey to hear hoping to stall just long enough for Don to give his verdict and them to get the shell away from the noisy students all around them.

"Please? I'll find a way to make you your favorite." Mikey cajoled, hoping bribery would turn this fiasco to his favor.

"Wha - You'll bake rese-cup cookies for me if I get ya away from the good doc and the hens?" Raph asked incredulously. He had made his favorite cookies on accident with a blender and a toaster oven and had never found a way to remake the cookies from peanut butter and chocolate chips that tasted just like a Reeses' peanut butter cup. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this." Raph growled as he hauled Mikey up, almost tossing the smallest of the four without trying.

"Yo, Hamato! You ok?" One of the boys called from the side as a group of students ran to protect Mikey from the bully at his side.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Mikey called back with a huge grin, clinging to Raph;s shoulder desperately in an attempt to stay upright and out of the others' hands. "I can't walk the best right now, but I've convinced my big bro here that he should save me." Mikey grinned cheekily as Raph growled stunning the large crowd that still couldn't believe that the tall black kid was related to the three brothers.

"Hey, chuck-fer-brains, the bargain was that I help you, not become some side show." Raph ground out, glaring down at his shortest brother.

"What!" the many watchers from the sidelines booed and hollered at the black boy for insulting their newest favorite student. The commotion caught Leo and Don's attention from where they spoke with Dr. Bates, stilling Raph mid escape attempt.

"That's it hot head!" Leo barked savagely, striding furiously to where Raph stood, Mikey hanging from one shoulder at an angle. "You can't even follow one single order!"

"So, you'd rather we put our baby bro in the hands of someone we don't even know, eh, Fearless?" Raph snapped back before roughly turning and hauling Mikey from the course and away from Dr. Bates towards the school and their next class. Everyone remained quiet, the tension and anger that radiated from Raph's body like heat, so tangible in its presence that it kept the crowd silent as one no one wanted the terrifying rage turned on them.

Leo bowed his head and fumed silently even as he found himself agreeing with Raph at the same time. Cursing himself and Raph simultaneously Leo signaled to Don the pair bolting off after Raph, Don helped Raph haul Mikey through the halls faster while Leo ran interference, keeping the path cleared before them. The bell rang just as they approached their next classroom, allowing the boys to enter and sit patiently until the horde of students streamed in all talking at once in awe and in mockery of the strange brothers.

"Are you really brothers?" A girl called Ashley asked Mikey as she sat directly in front of him.

"Yup!" Mikey said proudly. "My bros are the best. Though Raph gets a little prickly at times, and he's a hot head - and he has a really short fuse." Mike rambled on absently, smirking as he could sense Raph's temper snap behind him.

"Enough!" Raph yelled. "I'm right here! Jeeze you nevah shut up do ya?" Everyone around them jumped and stared at Raph's outburst. It was hard at anytime to overlook the tall, well toned anger management case, but there were times that he seemed to completely vanish, and then he was suddenly jumping down someone's throat, usually either Leo's or Mikey's.

"Sorry dude, I couldn't help myself. So," Mikey sniggered and warmed up to Raph, completely ignoring his brother's outburst or the heightened aggression radiating around them. "They got Mortal Kombat: Pit of Darkness, wanna get beaten by me tonight?" With Mikey's blue eyes sparkling with mirth Raph knew he would fold.

"In yer dreams, yak face. I'll beat ya to a pulp." Raph smirked as the other kids looked on nervously, every one of them nearly convinced that Raph would cause bodily harm to sweet Mikey.

"So I finally get to meet the Hamato brothers." A tall woman with a severe, frowning face walked into the classroom, the chaos immediately dying upon her entrance. "You four caused quite a lot of trouble today, and while I shall leave any punishments to Dr. Bates, Headmaster Barkus and Principle Davis, know that if you try any such shenanigans in my class you four will be expelled in a heartbeat." The woman stared the four down, expecting a smart comeback, or a witty sarcasm, yet they surprised her.

"Ma'am, we will not do anything to offend you, we just cannot bring ourselves to trust those we don't know with our youngest brother." Leo spoke up respectfully, earning a quirked eyebrow in return.

"Very well. Class, today we shall begin writing styles, their differences and their uses. Following our lesson your homework will be a five hundred word first person exploration of your most vivid memory." The brothers paled, looking to each other and silently gulping. They knew any of their memories, especially their most vivid ones were enough to bring on the cops at best, at worst alert Bishop and bring him down here to endanger the many children and their guardians.

* * *

><p>Raph sighed as he sunk into a ratty couch on the far end of the common room. They had made it through their first day of classes. Mikey's ankle was already better, only twanging slightly at odd times. Leo and Don still were wary of Dr. Bates and Richard, the four of them having evaded the adults for the entirety of the evening, finally hiding here in the back of the south common room. Raph laid his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes in weariness.<p>

"Dude, you don't look so hot." Mikey poked Raph in the forehead from where he sat with his leg up on the coffee table.

"Don't feel so hot Mikey." Raph replied softly with a tired sigh. Leo and Don looked worriedly over to Raph, both afraid that something had made their rash brother sick.

"Does anything hurt?" Don asked, kneeling at his brother's side.

"My head, I miss Sensei." Raph rasped, a bead of sweat suddenly trickling down his face.

"If I had my lab I could check him out, but here we have no privacy and I still don't want to trust Dr. Bates." Don looked worriedly from Raph to Leo, hoping there was a plan.

"Listen, I don't like this either, but it looks like we may not have any choice." Leo watched Raph's face tense, his dark skin ashen. The skin tone threw him off, but Leo felt he should be more worried for Raph. Finally, from years ago, Leo finally recalled the memory. Raph was slipping into his terrors. The horrible nightmares that only Sensei seemed to be able to chase away still preyed upon him and now they were back. Leo sighed and placed a soothing hand on Raph's forehead.

Raph let the darkness from Leo's hand cool his aching eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He kept his eyes closed, hoping the early warning would go away, even though he had no doubts that tonight the entire orphanage would hear his screams. The terrors were coming. He already knew which nightmare it was, the dream itself was old, but it never truly faded. Once awake it held no power, most often it was laughable when awake, yet when asleep the horrors witnessed far outweighed anything and enveloped him in complete terror.

Beside him he could hear Mikey shifting on the couch. More shifting then he felt Leo's hand leave his forehead, the sudden reappearance of the bright lights forcing a soft, pained whimper from him only to be replaced with darkness as Leo sat beside him, guiding Raph's head to his shoulder.

"What are ya bozos doin'?" Raph groused distantly. Leo smirked at his younger brother.

"You need some down time, just us. Take a nap, we'll be here." The others murmured their agreements and pulled out their homework, each setting aside cheat sheets to help Raph once he felt better.

Time passed slowly for the brothers, each working hard and occasionally checking on Raph or Mikey's ankle. As the evening wound down voices began to fill the room, waking Raph who now felt marginally better, though his head still felt too heavy.

"There they are, on the far couch." A young girl's voice piped up. Leo looked over to the side, hiding a snarl at seeing Dr. Bates, Richard and Headmaster Barkus approaching with a small handful of teachers behind them.

"Guys, company." Leo ground out. As one Mikey, Don and Raph stood at his side, though two didn't look the best. Mikey still favored his ankle and Raph was still slightly out of it, though each of them had faced down fierce enemies under worse circumstances.

"Leonardo Hamato," Barkus drawled harshly, "I don't know who you think you are, or what you believe you should be capable of getting away with, but today you, as self-proclaimed elder brother, have violated at least three of our rules here at Saint Margarets'. First, you allowed your youngest brother to receive an injury without informing Dr. Bates. Second, when the injury was reported you allowed Raphael to interfere, and then you assisted him in keeping Michaelangelo from Dr. Bates. And, finally you and your brothers failed to show up for chores.

"Now, usually we expect such shenanigans from most of our kids who have lived in broken homes, or have been passed from foster home to foster home until they reach us, but I had truly expected more from four boys who had had a loving father like the one you described to Mr. Russell and Dr. Bates. If you four wish to stay together, then you will live here by my rules. Do you understand?" Barkus stared the four down, suddenly noticing the pallor beneath Raphael's dark skin and the lack of snide comments.

"What has happened to Raphael?" Dr. Bates cut in worried for the boy's health.

"I – ah, it's nothing we can't handle." Don replied in a small voice.

"I'm fine. I just – " 'just want the monsters ta go away. But, the guardian failed, I can't.' Raph groaned and covered his face with his hands and crouched down low, seeming to ward off dizziness. Finally Mikey looked over at Raph and shifted closer.

"Guys I got an idea. Remember the time Splinter first met Mr. Mortu and he was out longer than we expected? Remember the fight Raph and I had?" Mikey looked straight at Don who suddenly paled.

"You don't think that he blames himself for you getting hurt do you?" Leo demanded.

"Hey, our beloved hot head has more quirks than a run over slinky." Mikey replied as he knelt down in front of Raph and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, you're not doing the old guilt trip again are ya?"Mikey asked gently.

"I ain't guilt trippin." Raph snarled, startling the adults though his brothers saw right through his aggression to his unease at speaking of his own emotions. "That assignment," Raph shook his shoulder with a distasteful jerk, "it just brought up a few bad memories." Raph groused finally sounding more like himself.

"Do I even want to know what is going on?" Barkus demanded looking from the clearly agitated Raph to his worried but calm brothers and Mikey who had a teasing smirk on his face.

"Eh, kinda." Mikey replied off handedly. "Raph occasionally suffers from night terrors. When Raph and I were playing when we were little he saw a kid get – well creamed by a car. He kept me from seeing it, hearing the kid's scream and the tires squeal was bad enough. Today's English assignment was to write our most vivid memories in first person. It kinda got to Raph. No one should see a kid killed by a speeding truck, especially not an even younger kid trying to protect his little brother from seeing it."

"So, if your brother will be alright, what do you have to say for today's antics?" Leo and Don shared bemused glances at Barkus' demands, neither quite sure what to say, but both knowing that Raph was right. They had to keep as much to themselves as possible. Involving the staff of Saint Margaret's and Saint Jerome in their lives was not an option.

"Sirs, we have lived most of our lives home schooled. We played almost exclusively by ourselves growing up. We trust our family we trust those close to our family. And, no offense, no one here falls into either category. If we get hurt, really hurt and not just a minor scrape or sprain, we will come to Dr. Bates. Otherwise we can take care of ourselves just fine." Leo said calmly, trying desperately to not sound like a whiny, know it all in the process.

"And, as for chores, we were told to be at the kitchens for cleanup at eight. It is only seven, and unless if our chores were altered then we will be there when expected." Barkus sighed and grinned slightly. The boys had guts at least. He nodded in approval to Leonardo's words and rubbed his hands together.

"I will make you four a deal, if you allow Dr. Bates to look Michaelangelo and Raphael over, and both check out fine, then we will trust your judgment as to when you and your brothers should see Dr. Bates. If, however, either one of them requires our assistance, then you four will be visiting the infirmary at the slightest hint of a sniffle, do I make myself clear?

"Yes, sir." The four replied in flat unison, Dr. Bates led them into his office examining Mikey's ankle and Raph thoroughly and finding little more than lingering stiffness in the ankle and Raph to be in top shape despite his slightly elevated heart rate and profuse sweating, both early symptoms of night terror that without any kind of psychiatric visit or prescription they could do nothing about.

"The boys have treated this exactly how I would have. I can see no reason not to trust their judgment." Dr. Bates sighed in resignation, knowing that the four receiving special treatment would cause quite a stir even as he signed their releases and allowed them to go on their way to dinner and chores.

The next day saw the brothers up before everyone else. They had been notified that older kids could get up after five in the morning, being expected to know how to behave themselves for a short time unsupervised. The four woke early and showered, enjoying the relative privacy of being the only ones in the communal shower at the time.

Mikey and Raph sat with Don, having an impromptu study session while Leo sat to the side reading through a tattered volume of "The Five Rings" by the famous Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi. The four read and studied quietly in the stillness of the common room of the orphanage, anxiously plotting to find bits of time away from other students to find Master Splinter. "Good, you four are awake. I was hoping I would not have to fight you to get moving this early." Richard stated with a calming smile as he approached their table.

"Now whaddda ya want?" Raph demanded with a resigned sigh, his face sullen as he sized Richard up.

"I want for you boys to get across the street and into the testing center so I don't have to explain to your first hour instructors why you have missed class two days in a row." Leo and Don shared worried glances while Mikey just hung his head.

"This is so cruel and unusual punishment! I mean what happened to PE?" Mikey whined as they collected their books and headed across the street to the school. The four crossed as one, their steps silent in the early dawn hour. The testing center staff looked tired and still slightly groggy when they approached, but all seemed to expect them.

"Excellent you're right on time." The oldest of the nuns running the center smiled as she approached ushering the four into the well lit testing room and sat them at intervals so none could cheat. "This test shall determine where you stand academically within our class tiers. I will be right back with your tests." The nun slipped silently from the room, leaving the brothers in stillness momentarily.

"Remember, guys, 'all we have is each other, if one goes down, we all go down.'" Leo said calmly, sending chills up Mikey's spine as he remembered the first time Leo said those same words to him nearly three years ago.**

"Yanno, Fearless, you forgot something." Raph ground out, his voice carrying the deepness it held only when his mind was miles away.

"And what might that be?" Leo asked harshly, bristling at the hated nickname.

"Be ready fer anything." Raph replied with a smirk earning three grins in the process. Their tests arrived shortly thereafter, taking two hours and all their attention to complete.

Mikey sighed as he leaned back against the wall beside the school's front door. The brothers were silent as they stood together in the early morning silence. With their tests completed they now waited for the other kids to arrive and for school to start. Don had finished first and was already three fourths through his physics book, frowning and making notes on things he did not agree with on a separate note pad. Surprisingly Raph had finished second. He now paced, twirling a stick in his left hand, using it as he once used his sai to vent his agitation at being forced to wait for something he had never asked for. Leo finished third, he might have finished sooner, but the perfectionist in him kept making him go back to check his responses, ensuring his best efforts were put forth. Mikey, as expected, had finished last, having just recently rejoined his brothers he watched the clouds scudding overhead as his mind drifted away.

"Do you think being smart is contagious?" The brothers paused, staring in bewilderment at Mikey's distant question.

"What're ya yammering on 'bout this time?" Raph groused, he hated waiting, hated more that he had to wait for school to start when they still had yet to look for their master.

"Mikey, intelligence is something that is developed, like being strong or fast. Some have a predisposition to learn fast or master physical tasks quickly, but, no, intelligence is not contagious." Donny replied with his ever present wisdom.

"Why do you ask?" Leo searched his baby brother's face for a clue to this current riddle that was Mikey.

"Cause, that test didn't seem so hard. I mean, there were some things that went way over my head, but most of it I feel like I've already learned it before. Does that make sense?" The brothers looked at one another for the answer pausing only when the first cluster of girls appeared from around the corner, marking the beginning of their day.

"Hey, you're the Hamato brothers, aren't you?" The girl smiled as she approached. She was beautiful, someone who could have been a super model or a movie star. Her hair waved in the wind in almost slow-motion, seeming to heighten her features. "I'm Alyssa." Her smile widened slightly at the stunned silence she received from the foursome.

"Ahm Raph," She nearly started, looking over to the black brother with some unease. His harsh voice and near tangible aggression scared her.

"Sorry, we're not too good with pleasantries, a small oversight of us being mostly home schooled till now. I'm Leonardo, these are our brothers Donatello and Michaelangelo." Leo looked calmly over the girl before them, sure she was in one of their classes, but unable to remember which one.

"Dude!" Mikey whined immediately, "You get to be ugly Raph, but we have to be _Leonardo,_ _Donatello and Michaelangelo_? Gee, thanks, _Raphael_, real great way to make introductions to a lady bro." Mikey's sarcasm caused an uncertain eyebrow to be raised by Alyssa, making her wonder if approaching the boys had been a smart idea or not.

"Sorry about them." Donatello spoke as he stood. "We just had to take the entrance exams, and tests have always made us nervous." His soft voice and gentle tone made Alyssa smile all over; he obviously was the kindest of the bunch.

"That's okay, I was a wreck when I first came here. My parents have always wanted the best education for me and they demand perfection. I was terrified I would let them down and fail, but I got in with honors. I'm sure your four will do fine." She looked up at the clouds over head, following Michaelangelo's distant gaze to the many nebulous shapes above.

"What about your parents? I bet they're very proud of you four." Alyssa swallowed painfully at the stony silence that greeted her, suddenly realizing she was talking to orphans.

"Don't get the wrong idea lady. We ain't orphans, and we wasn't abandoned. Stayin' at Saint Margaret's ain't permanent. So don't start the whole pity routine. It ain't wanted an' it ain't appreciated." Raph glared at her, his eyes glowing with an emotion so painful it made her gasp.

"Raph! Cool it." Leo barked, smiling apologetically at the beauty before them. "Just save it. When we need your anger you'll be the first to know." Leo stated darkly, his words worrying the girl even more than his brother's rage.

"Are – are you guys in, you know, in a gang?" Alyssa asked worriedly, her voice dropping to a near conspirational whisper, her eyes showing fear and looking ready to bolt.

"No way dudette! I'm too cute to be in a gang! Besides, we're just worried 'bout our family. Don't worry; Raph's just being his usual over protective hard case self." Mikey grinned cheekily earning a glower from Raph and exasperated sighs from his other brothers.

Alyssa giggled at Mikey's antics, instantly won over by his actions, and his brothers' frustration at him. "I've never met anyone like you guys before." She twittered as more students filed past them.

"In Mikey's case, count yaself lucky." Raph groused mockingly, riling Mikey into giving him a raspberry.

"Such wonderful friends, Alyssa, would you introduce us?" A cool tenor rose from behind the girl, her smiling features slowly falling as cold terror filled her green eyes.

"Mis-mister Van Dross! Wha-what are you doing here?" Alyssa asked masking her fear with a tremulous smile. The man smiled warmly, entertained to a sickening level at the girl's fear.

"Sweet Alyssa, you had an interview yesterday, and did not show up. I was worried for our top _model_." The long haired man crooned sickeningly, eyeing the girl almost hungrily through her clothes. Stepping forward he caressed her face delicately, licking his lips while his eyes danced in stomach churning anticipation.

"Sir, these are some of the new kids at school. They started yesterday." She swallowed difficultly, giving the four an apologetic glance before dropping her eyes and stepping aside, giving the man access to the brothers.

"Ah, such beauties, four faces, so alike yet so contrasting I could find an instant market for you. I am pleased to meet you four." The man paused looking each of the four in the eyes, staring deeply into the mistrusting orbs, greatly enjoying the shimmering defiance that radiated like a tangible light. "Amazing, you four could be models of the highest caliber, especially you two." With the speed defying the laconic persona he displayed Van Dross suddenly reached up and stroked tenderly down the sides of Don's and Mikey's faces. "Come by my office sometime, I'll be more than willing to give you an _interview_." The man chuckled darkly before turning smartly and as if pulling a mask over his defiled soul walked jovially up to several approaching clergy and teachers greeting them kindly and putting in good words on several students who had graduated and come to work for him.

Alyssa was still shivering when a twin threatening growl rose from either side of her, glancing over her shoulder she saw twin looks of murder on the faces of Raphael and Leonardo. "I can't wait ta get my hands on that creep. I'll rip him apart!" Raph snarled just loud enough for his brothers to hear.

"Raph! Not helping." Leo barked turning to Mikey as Raph turned to Don. "Mikey, are you ok?" Leo asked worriedly of his suddenly completely silent brother.

"I – I think I'm gonna be sick." Don whimpered. Raph pushed Mikey and Don to stand closer to each other, handing their brothers over to Leo while he turned to Alyssa.

"Tell me everything about this creep, now." Raph glared, even as he pulled a kerchief from his bag and handed it to Alyssa, a symbol that she could wipe away the feeling of being touched by such a creep.

"Anton Van Dross, he is the founder of Rose Modeling," Alyssa hiccupped as tears streamed down her perfect features, "He has helped the school and orphanage for the past ten years, hiring new graduates as office assistants, photography apprentices, couriers, he has hired so many, and most come by with glowing stories of what a marvelous guy he is. I asked him for a job last month. I'm a senior, and I wanted to please my parents, but when I went into the _interview_," the girl sobbed, burying her face into the kerchief for a second as she regained control of her tears.

"He – he _touched_ me. There were others, several guys and some women. I thought at first it was an interview panel. Then – then he told me to make myself comfortable and to takeoff my blazer. I didn't think anything of it, so I did. Then, he was nearly on top of me, saying things I'd never heard befor, his words – when he speaks it's like a spell. He undressed me, kissed me." Her voice dropped into a self-loathing whisper as her hands balled into white knuckled, trembling fists of impotent fury and despair.

"The others all had their turns, touching me, caressing – licking. I thought it would never end. Then he held up a CD, pulled it from his computer. He told me he had recorded our little session and that if I didn't want my parents to find out, I had to pose for his magazines, and take roles in his films. Yesterday was a casting call. The working title so far –" Alyssa took a deep breath, trying to control her tears and her horror. Though she kept speaking her only thought was to end the humiliation and guilt. Especially the shame at telling these strange boys what she could not even breathe to her parents, "His title is 'Slumber Party: Mother Daughter Bondage.'"

Raph stared in abject horror at what this poor girl was saying. He wished with all his heart that he could not understand the sick bastard who had done this to her, unfortunately he understood all too well. Their many years of street battles and intergalactic adventures had forced them to grow up fast, faster than even Master Splinter, hopefully, knew.

"Alyssa, thank you," Leo stepped forward, placing a calming hand on the girl's delicate shoulder. "Go wash up, try not to cry anymore. Just tell us one more thing, please. Where can we find Van Dross?" The promise within Leo's eyes that same promise of pain and retribution reflected tenfold within Raphael's eyes terrified her even as she drew strength from it. These boys were going to kill the sick bastard, and she was going to enjoy reading about it on the evening news.

"Lexington and forty-eighth" Alyssa said softly, desperately wishing she could pretend she knew nothing as she turned and fled.

The brothers watched Alyssa stride off, pulling eye drops from her purse and making a show of pulling out and pretending to take allergy medication. The ruse would fool most of the other students for now.

"Raph, could you keep an eye on the creep for a while?" Leo asked casually. His only reply was a sickening crackling of knuckles and an eager smile. Leo knew he had planning to do, Don needed to get equipment to get Raph ready for his mission and Mikey had to play intermediary for them. Life was about to get interesting for them, Leo only wished he had more time as the bell rang signaling the start to another day.

* * *

><p>Raph leapt down the first half pipe, his movements graceful yet rough and full of anger. His aggression visible in every turn he made. Grinding down a rail and flipping off the landing, spinning to accelerate and shifting to tackle the wall that Mikey had set the standard on, aiming to match the thirty foot length. Raph focused only on the moves, the speed. He had to channel his aggression out of his system or he would be busting heads. The creep had <em>touched<em> Mikey and Don. Leo was pissed as well, only Fearless handled it better, immediately slipping into meditation while Raph willingly made a spectacle of himself. Raph slid along the wall, skating completely horizontal to the ground for the entire thirty foot length before pushing off and tackling the next few jumps without pausing. Finally, after running the course two more times, Raph skated over to Mikey and Don, where they stood casually together, though their eyes told volumes as to how much this morning's encounter had disturbed them.

"Wow, he's taking this harder than I had feared." Don muttered to Mikey as Raph approached and tossed the board to the youngest Hamato. Raph still looked like he could kill something with his bare hands but, at least the bloodlust had left his eyes.

"There you go folks!" Mikey crowed, glomping onto Raph's tense shoulder, attempting to overcome their fury at the creep. "My own bro Raphael! Ain't he the coolest?" Mikey leapt from Raph's shoulder to Donny and nudged Leo from where he sat meditating about to ask them to show off when the bell rang. Raph had never been so happy to be forced to live by someone else's schedule if he had to pretend everything was fine and dandy like Michelle and Sadra had asked them too much longer, he'd end up putting his fist through a wall, though he'd prefer it to be through someone's face.

As they walked back to their classes Raph remembered all too well the terrified girls who had approached them in the halls between classes. Their looks were on par with Alyssa's and their stories very similar. Leo had been forced to physically hold Raph back from ditching school and attacking the creep right then, but then they sucker punched them with their only request.

"_Please, don't tell anyone, just pretend that everything is normal." Sandra, a petite Asian girl with eyes so dark the dim hallway lights shone like bright stars from her scared eyes, asked desperately. "He holds many under his thumb, if we tell, or speak of it, he will use this to destroy our families." The girl looked down at her feet in shame, a feeling the brothers could understand well._

"_You four think you get it, but you don't." Michelle, a proud girl with ebony skin glared at them through her fear. "My father, Alyssa's mother and Sandra's parents are all influential people in this city. If anyone knew what we had signed up for, they would be ousted, we'd go to jail and it would be all our fault. What have you got to lose?" The girls looked at the boys demandingly, searching for an answer._

"_You want to know what we have to lose?" Leo asked darkly, his eyes hard, his voice sounding too much like Raph's, "More than our honor, more than our pride, more than money, we stand to lose each other." The girls quirked sardonic eyebrows at the foursome, their eyes radiating disdain._

"_Ladies, we ain't yer normal kids. We have enemies out there. If they find us here cause o' that creep, we bring the scum down on our heads, and the heads of innocents. Evah hear of the purple Dragons? They know us, an' it ain't friendly. We ain't got time fer this, yet we're gonna stop the basta'd. Were doin' it fer us, fer our broda's and ta keep our conscience a little cleana. You two think bout that. You face losing yer lifestyle, we risk losing our lives." _

Raph started when Mikey elbowed him in the ribs, focusing on the school grounds before him Raph finally noticed Leo and Don ambling ahead of them, heading for the admin building instead of their class. "Where're they goin'?" Raph asked looking confusedly at Mikey.

"Dude, you were way out there weren't you? We've been paged to the principal's office." Mikey tapped Raph's shoulder and bolted catching up to Leo seconds before Raph, who merely glared at Mikey and fell into step with Don.

"They are so cool!" A girl named Jenny sighed. Everyone around her muttered their agreement. As the four walked away the wind rippled and tugged at their blazer hems and pants legs the wind was soft, yet the way they moved made it look like they could walk through a hurricane unscathed. They strode together, not in unison, but rather their gates overlapping, they walked with a purpose, straight, tall, strong the four were fearless. Even Raph was admired for all his angst, hate and violence, he was cool in his dark 'think about touching me and you'll wish your mother had never been born' way.

The crowds hurried to their classes, all catching glimpses of the brothers who filled the entire field with their presence and made even Barkus seem small, straining their necks until the four passed into the Administration building and out of sight.

The four strode to the principal's office and froze in the doorway when they saw the simple room with seven strangers sitting in a panel behind the single old fashioned wooden desk. "Ah, here they are. Boys, please take a seat." The principal gestured to four seats in front of his desk. Mikey, Leo and Don glanced at each other and stood behind the chairs, their mistrust of the situation making them refuse the seats. Raph didn't even leave the door, just leant against the jam as he studied the situation.

"Boys, I am Father Steve, the principal here at Saint Jerome's. We have been talking to each of the teachers who have had the privilege to have you in their classes as well as with the folks from the testing center, and we are suitably impressed." The older priest smiled kindly on the brothers as he stood slowly from his simple chair. "These good folks are some of our representatives from our advanced studies and Gate departments.

"You four, due to the circumstances of your enrollment here, are being granted special circumstances. We want to keep you together, however it will make it slightly difficult to ensure you have the best educations. So we have come up with two solutions, but it will be up to you to make the decisions." Father Steve smiled at the four once more before returning to his seat, gesturing to a rotound, red faced woman with greaying short cropped hair to his left.

"Gentlemen, I am Patricia Potts, Recruiting Specialist from Gayle Sykes University. We have a long standing transfer program with Saint Jerome's allowing high school students to take courses on our campus that will serve as both high school and college credit. The classes are harder, and your schedules will not be so structured, but we would be more than willing to have you on our campus.

"With your test scores each of you have placed well within freshmen level educations at least for the majority of subjects. Michaelangelo, however will need to take a more basic math course and Raphael should look into more classes in developing his somewhat underdeveloped grasp of politics and society. Leonardo, you would be best placing into straight freshmen or sophmore courses and Donatello, you could quite possibly be one of our youngest Doctorate students in our history. Your grasp of science, engineering, mathematics, health, almost everything, is quite astounding. However, that all hinges on you taking writing, grammar and English courses, your scores in that department were not satisfactory for immediate acceptance into any doctorate programs." Mrs. Potts said kindly, though her enthusiasm for working with a Bona-fide genius clearly shone through her glimmering pale eyes.

Leonardo looked to his brothers, Raphael having stepped forward to stand beside the others nodded only once, his gaze sharing an agreement with the eldest that confirmed what each brother was thinking. "If we did not accept placement at the university, what would be our chances of being separated for the duration of the day?" Leo asked calmly. The counselors and Principal looked to one another, sharing a soft murmured conference before turning back to the brothers.

"If you decided to stay at Saint Jerome's it is definite that you would be separated. We can offer Raphael and Michaelangelo advanced placement courses here, and though it would take some special course work we could accommodate you, Leonardo. However; with Donatello's level of education, we would be only wasting his time. If you four would like we can place Leonardo and Donatello in the University while Raphael and Michaelangelo remain here." Father Steve replied evenly.

"We all go to the University." Leonardo replied evenly. "When can we apply, and will we have a chance to speak with Mr. Russell and Head Master Barkus? If we are to go to this university we need to contact our family friends so that they can find us if anything happens while Father is indisposed."

Father Steve looked the brothers over carefully. "We had hoped to get you enrolled today. It is still early, and we have plenty of time. The next bus to the university from here leaves in one hour. Go talk with who you need to, we will prepare your files to transfer to the University. You four will be missed here, despite your antics since your arrival, you have been a wonder to work with." Father Steve looked the four over one more time before dismissing them.

It took him a moment to realize the four had never sat in the chairs offered to them, and that they had somehow held the most authority in the small room as they stood over the seated adults. He smiled to himself, those boys were something special. The world was going to be a very interesting place in a few years after they graduated.

* * *

><p>Barkus looked up at his open door when the soft knock sounded outside. The Hamato brothers stood in the doorway with Mr. Russell before them. "May I help you?" The rumbled query sounded resigned. Barkus could only hope that the four walking headaches had not caused any more mischief today.<p>

"Sir," Leonardo began, "We wish to transfer to Gayle Sykes University. Our test scores are sufficient enough to get us into the university. However, as we are guests here, we will not do anything without your approval."

Barkus looked the boys over critically, noting the small stack of manila envelopes in Richard's hands. "You four are creating quite a stir here. I think this might allow my charges to calm down if you're not here. Go get out of here. Richard, have Mary Elizabeth accompany them. She will ensure they get there on time and will bring back a copy of their schedules."

Leo suppressed a snort of disdain. They had been on their own for all intensive purposes since they were thirteen, but he knew it wasn't worth fighting over. They had enough on their plates already with just trying to find their father. "May we make a phone call? I would like to know if Casey and April have found out anything."

"Go ahead; use the phone in the front office like everybody else." Barkus exchanged a bemused glance with Richard before the councilor turn to follow the four boys.

Richard was not looking forward to handing the brothers over to the sweet dispositioned Sister Mary Elizabeth. While she would take excellent care of the boys, it was not the kind of care the brothers needed. They also did not trust easily either, and while it had only been less than two days for them here, they at least had some knowledge of who he was and what he would do. They had no such idea about Mary Elizabeth. She could easily say something without thinking, possibly chasing off the boys or encouraging them to run away and look for their father on the dangerous streets of New York all alone.

"We will be fine Mr. Russell, and while your concern is appreciated, it is not necessary. Leo knows how important it is that we are on our best behavior here, we all do. Regardless of how Mikey and Raph act, we know, and we will not do anything to compromise the allowances we have been given. We want our father back, yes, but we are not foolish enough to go against the only people willing to help us right now." Don spoke from Richard's side, his soft words startling the troubled councilor.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Richard asked nervously, looking at Don with trepidation.

"I have two older brothers who like to shoulder the pain and guilt of the entire family. It's a knack that one develops." Don replied easily.

"Pain and guilt?" The pair slowed behind the others who were moving slightly faster. They had plenty of time before the bus came so there was no real rush.

"When any of us gets hurt, Leo feels responsible. He blames himself for everything that goes wrong. Sometimes, it takes Raph nearly duking it out with him to get his head screwed back on right, but that's Leo. He is our eldest brother because he looks after us when Father isn't around. He takes his duties as our eldest brother seriously, sometimes too seriously." Don replied with a fond smile for his palest brother. "Raph, on the other hand, sees himself as the family guardian. He's always been protective of the family. If anyone gets hurt, he watches over us, only at a distance. We've each found our own way of keeping our family safe.

"That's how I know what you're thinking; besides your face hides your emotions even worse than Mikey's." Don chuckled at Richard's disbelieving expression. When Don explained his family, they sounded like nothing more than ordinary boys. They acted like any set of brothers he had ever encountered, until they felt threatened. Then they became a miniature fighting unit, their stances assured, their eyes focused on whatever stood in their way. The transition from normal boy to tough fighter was not so disconcerting with Raphael and Leonardo those two were already more intense than their brothers. But, with Donatello and Michaelangelo, the transition was somewhat startling. Mikey was normally the class clown, acting up and pulling pranks. Donatello was the shy, introverted book worm. They both seemed like pacifists, not fighters. The younger pair hid their skills in fighting extremely well, up until Leo gave them a command or one of them was hurt, then they became two of the more dangerous fighters, the one with the intelligence to be lethal and the unpredictable one.

Barkus did not like to see the boys alone; he wanted them under constant supervision until he could convince himself that they were in no way a threat to his children. However, with resources constantly challenged by budget cuts and lack of funding he knew he could not appoint any such guardian for them. So they would go alone to the college and God save any fool stupid enough to threaten them.

The ride to the university was, at first uneventful. Mary Elizabeth sat near the boys on the bus, immediately aware that they had placed themselves inconspicuously between her and some of the rougher looking travelers who waited until they were in one of the rougher burrows before they eyed her as an easy mark. One of them began to approach, ignoring the seated boys in favor of the timid nun beyond them. As he approached he heard a threatening snarl, pausing to look the boys over once more he focused on the lone black kid standing by the three white boys.

Raph rumbled a warning deep in his chest, stance going rigid and eyes flashing with an intimidating light as the creep approached. The looser looked like he could hold his own in a fight, but apparently could not decide if he was Goth or leather clad biker. Knuckles cracking and a fierce grimace that looked like a threatening mix of blood thirsty grin and fierce snarl split Raph's features forcing the thug to step back in surprise.

"Fellas, ya might wanna look somewhere else fer yer fun." Raph drawled darkly.

"Or what? You're gonna stand and fight for a nun?" One of the thugs asked snidely, his left hand fingering his pocket threateningly.

"I ain't in no mood fer ya bozos, so just move along like good little cronies." Raph snarled back, his face contorting further into an even darker frown.

Leo sighed, he couldn't snap at Raph for looking after their escort, but his instigating was going to land them all in a fight. He bit back a sigh and hoped he knew what he was getting himself into as he opened his mouth, "Don't do it, Raph. Remember what happened to the last guy you fought?"

Raph smirked, his snarl even more blood thirsty as he thought back to the final battle between them and Winters, "Yeah, he saw the light." Eyes sparkling with battle lust Raph continued, his voice growing raspy from the restrained urge to deck the jerks who were not looking impressed.

"Yeah," Mikey piped up sounding nervous, "the light of heaven, or hell depending on where he went."

"So little black boy killed a man. Ohh, I'm scared now." The punk smirked.

"Ten bucks says he breaks their spines." Don nudged Mikey calmly.

"Nah, too messy and there's not too much space to work with. He could break their necks easily though." Mikey replied just as calmly.

"Guys, don't encourage him." Leo sighed exasperatedly. "We haven't had a good fight in a while and he's bored."

"But that's like totally the point, bro! If he fights these goons now, then we can have another three weeks of peace until he hunts again. Until then who cares as long as we don't have to find another back alley like last time. That was kinda gory dude." Mikey whined petulantly, "Please let him fight them? I mean it is entertaining to watch him work."

The thugs looked at each other worriedly. If what these boys said was true, they were too close to a serial killer. The thugs moved away quietly, not looking back and swiftly departing at the next stop.

"It's entertaining ta watch me work? What kind o' lame back up was that, moron?" Raph asked once the thugs had disembarked.

"Y – you four were playing?" Mary Elizabeth asked in a squeak, her crystal emerald eyes staring at the four with evident fear.

"Listen," Leo began gently, "Those guys wanted to hurt you. You are innocent of much of this world, and some people prey on that. We just showed them that we weren't afraid of them." Leo responded kindly before turning on Raph with a stern frown. "And _what_ was the stipulation of our staying at Saint Stephens?"

"Damnit Fearless! I know – _I know –_ no fights. I wasn't lookin' fer one. I just couldn't stand by an' let them hurt her!" Raph protested.

"I know, you did good. I just don't want to lose what we've got." Leo looked out to the passing traffic, all too aware of how the city usually looked from the skyline. He missed the wall crawling and the roof top hopping. There was much he and his brothers missed, though none had spoken of it yet.

Once, when they were little, they had imagined what life would have been like if they were human instead of being mutated turtles. Mikey had predicted that they would be totally awesome and liked everywhere. He had been right, they were. It just wasn't what any of them had imagined. Don had thought that they would get into the best schools with fascinating classes, and they were, only at the cost of all their time to find Splinter. Leo had thought they would have had chances to meet other kids from around the world, learn of different languages, cultures and greater understanding between the different races of humans on Earth. Well, here they had their chance, but the price was too high. Raph had felt that school would have been awful, kids clamoring for the new faces just because they were new, teachers and officials restricting them to obey foreign rules and the loss of their family from all the commotion human life entailed. It looked like Raph had been right as usual.

When they finally arrived at the University, the forewarning young Raphael had given years ago resoundingly sounded through the brothers' heads. The complex was huge, sprawling across several city blocks. With no walls or fencing to mark its boundaries there was little to cue them into where the University ended and the city began. People milled in the hundreds just in the small patches of grass in front of the buildings. Student groups ranging from the smallest grade school children to exchange students visiting for the day bustled in the throng, and it was only a little past one.

Raph was tense at Leo's side, Mikey nearly bouncing with the excitement he could feel in his veins and Don stood slightly to the side drooling over the distant science wing. Leo sighed, so Raph had once more predicted a worst case scenario that had come to pass. Here, where each of their fascinations could be found, they stood the greatest chance of being separated.

"Come along, the administration building is this way. I have been granted signing rites as your representative from Saint Joseph's to give the guardian signature granting you permission to attend the university as minors. The tests you took yesterday serve as your GED's. You four will be going through some more testing today, and the counselors here will be assisting you in determining which classes you should attend and help you pick out a major.

"Do you have any ideas on what majors you might be pursuing?" Mary Elizabeth asked kindly of her charges as she strode towards the Admin building.

"Dudette! That's the easiest question I've been asked all day! It's totally going to be media arts. I've read comic books all my life and now I can draw them!" Mikey chirruped with near manic energy as he bounced from foot to foot with anticipation.

"Ya sure ya don't wanna look inta video game design?" Raph asked smugly, knowing full well the idea would make Mikey insane with trying to make up his mind.

"Dude! You planned that! Now I don't know. Video games are totally hot and so my forte, but then comic books are super cool too. Maybe I should just go into theater and acting, I could be a movie star!" Mikey trailed off, his mind going a thousand miles a minute while his brothers cackled at his antics.

"Well, Mikey may be undecided, but I will be looking into engineering. I wonder if they have a combined field degree. It would be beneficial to have chemical, electrical, mechanical and advanced robotics engineering all at once instead of pursuing them individually." Don looked pensively as he mentally calculated if such a thing was possible.

"Don't fry a circuit there Brainiac, just make sure ya don't forget us or nutin' while yer away in geekville." Raph groused, earning himself a tense frown in return.

"I won't forget you! I _can't_ we do have to return to Saint Jerome's every night." Don responded dryly.

"I think I'll go into martial arts and Asian philosophy." Leo responded, figuring he might as well play along with the farce just enough to allow them freedom from the Sister and finally able to look for Sensei.

"What about you Raph?" Mikey finally asked when their resident pessimist failed to put up his plans.

"I don't know. I nevah planned fer this. Just took one day as it came, but I guess I don't have a choice here, do I?" Raph looked the crowds over trying to wrap his brain around the concept that he had to find a major and pretend.

"You've always liked going after the bad guys, you could go into police work." Don suggested, and immediately regretted it. Most police academies were separate entities entirely, they would be in completely different areas.

"They also have an undecided major. It allows you to take your prerequisites without being forced into something you're not ready for. There is no pressure here to decide your futures just yet." Mary Elizabeth smiled at the boys, amazed at how mature they were despite their young age. "Here we are, now the Administration is expecting us. They have made arrangements for us to fill out your paperwork in a small conference room where you four will be together. This will allow all of your questions to be answered at once."

The four shared one final glance at the thresh hold of the building and entered, knowing that they were only digging themselves in deeper into this crazy mess. The silent walk through the cool halls to the small conference room went swiftly, however each brother's mind was racing. It was one thing to pretend to be human until they could find a way to reverse their current condition, but to outright lie about what they were, forsake their father for this education they would have no way of continuing after they regained their original form and not to mention that school would take up so much time and energy that they would have to choose between the life they used to have and this future where they would only be accepted if they remained human. It was a choice none truly wished to make.

Each missed being a turtle. The lighter mass and more delicate build of being human was almost too hard to take. They had to wear clothing, not for camouflage, but as a necessity. They could no longer show off and do flips at random. Their weapons were missing, their gear lost, and no clue as to where their father was. The only contact they had with the life they had lost was April, and she was nearly off limits.

Finally arriving at the conference room, the four filed in behind Mary Elizabeth, entering the cold room with the blue chairs standing out against the walls, they felt like they were facing their worst nightmares. Four seats from the stadium styled seating held papers, each placed together with name cards on them.

"Dudes, that is so not cool. They misspelled my name!" Mikey whined loudly as he picked up his name card labeled 'Michelangelo'.

"You are Michelangelo, are you not?" One of the counselors asked gently.

"Yeah, but that's not how you spell _my_ name." Mikey groused. "I'm _Michael_angelo, not Michelangelo!"

"Did your parents not know how to properly spell your name?" the same counselor asked, his black dress shirt contrasting almost sickeningly with his pale face and nicotine yellowed teeth.

"Of course he did! But, that's not the point!" Mikey griped back fishing through his messenger bag for a marker and rewriting his name 'correctly'.

"Then what is?" A woman sitting beside him asked shortly.

"Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo all end in 'o', it makes us like each other. Raphael doesn't end in 'o', it has 'ae' together. That makes him different, and we're brothers, so we have to be alike somehow. So, I'm Michaelangelo so Raph doesn't have to be alone." Mikey replied evenly as he placed artistic touches around his name.

"Just make it easy on yersevles, its Leo, Raph, Don and Mike. No alternate spellings, no sappy sob stories. Can we get this over with already? Jeeze." Raph snapped, glaring at Mikey as he flopped angrily into his chair.

"Yes, of course." The pale man replied slightly off balance. These four were nothing like any of them had imagined them to be, and they had only just begun.

* * *

><p>Three hours later the four finally trod woodenly out of the conference room, their heads spinning with all the information they had been handed. Their majors decided upon, they now headed towards the bookstore to get their books and gear for the classes they had to begin starting with their first make-up class at five-thirty, after a swift snack break.<p>

"Dudes! I never thought art was so heavy!" Mikey wailed from under his pile of books and supplies that wobbled precariously over his head.

"Serves ya right, dufus. You just had to go on about our names, the counselors were _impressed_ with that. 'You have a natural artistic talent, we should nurture it immediately.'" Raph mimicked nasally the grating voice of the only other male counselor who happened to work exclusively with the Arts and Theater department.

The small man had been positively gleeful at discovering one of them had a taste for art. The man's limpid, watery eyes had gleamed pathetically as if he had never had enough students in his department as Mikey whined over their names.

"Enough, just get your books." Leo barked, tired of the bickering.

"Oh, sure thing Mr. Japanese history and philosophy, we'll just all bow and scrape as you play up your whole holier than though routine!" Raph snapped gratingly.

"Well, look who's jealous at being tossed around like an unwanted old sock. What is your major again? Oh, yes I remember, you _don't have one_. Just quit trying to start a fight so we can get this charade over with!" Leo growled, daring his hot tempered brother to contradict him.

"Well, at least ya still got yer head screwed on right. I just hope they do too." Raph rumbled as he looked over where Don and Mikey clamored for the many supplies their majors required.

"You – you mean you just wanted to make sure I didn't get into this?" Leo demanded, completely flabbergasted that Raph would even think that he would forget Sensei for even a second, until he realized why Raph had refused a major. He was keeping up his usual position, the guard, able to cut all unnecessary ties at a moment's notice if the situation required it.

Raph had no hobbies aside from battering his punching bag. He kept no long term friends outside of April and Casey. He could turn cold on an acquaintance in a heartbeat and never got close to anyone outside of their family. Leo felt his shoulders sink at the realization. Raph was even keeping himself from pretending this could have a happy ending.

"If this was real, if we really were what people think we are, would you have taken a major?" Leo asked softly.

"Splintah couldn't have afforded this. Don woulda gotten a scholarship or somethin', Mikey could have done art an' sold it ta help wid expenses, but no. If dis were real, I'd be out there workin' by now. Somebody'd have ta support Sensei when he got older, an this ain't cheap." Raph replied evenly.

"Is there nothing you've dreamt of pursuing?" Hazel eyes bored into black, Leo hoping there was some semblance of a dream underneath all of Raph's collected darkness.

"Dunno, ya know? We've had this life an' it's all I've evah wanted; just me an' my bros, doin' what we do best. What else is there?" Raph looked away, his attention suddenly captured by an Army Ranger's poster advertising the opportunity to serve their country.

Leo looked the poster over, noticing Raph glance and look away swiftly, his features almost ashamed at his wanting something that would take him away from his family.

"Go for it." Leo urged. "Raph, according to our records, we're fifteen. You're not old enough to sign up, but you can inquire about the ROTC. For once, just pretend while we have to be here. We'll find him then we'll find a way out of this. For now, just pretend, like we used to." Raph looked up at the poster once more frowning slightly before finally nodding.

"Sure, why not." Raph replied with a slight smile.

"Good, now finish getting your books. We've got English in forty-five minutes and we still need to eat." Leo nudged Raph into moving, the tallest brother finally grabbing his books, helping Don and Mikey carry what they had as they made their way to the check out and Mary Elizabeth awaited with the credit voucher that would cover all of the necessary books and items their sponsors had granted them.

* * *

><p>"Guys?" Don asked as he approached, eyes glazed and exhausted looking three hours later. "Can we go back now?" The day was finally over, and they would never have to stay this late again since this was a day of make up classes to get started on assignments.<p>

Raph sighed with long suffering and grabbed Don's oversized bag. "Ya look 'bout ready ta collapse Brainiac. Just make sure ya don't ge lost, 'kay?" Don nodded and fell in step beside Raph, allowing his hand to keep brushing the edge of the bag on his brother's shoulder to keep from wandering off and collapsing.

"Dude, you look awful." Mikey rasped.

"And ya look like a prize winning pony?" Raph snorted, "Trust me Mikey, ya look worse. Green definitely doesn't go with pink."

Mikey looked down at his hands, his pale skin definitely looking pink from too much painting and dye with obnoxious lime green liberally spattered over the well scrubbed skin while his mind reeled from all of the information he had received today, like he would need to take chemistry to understand the chemical nature behind the color creation process used in making paints and dyes and how they interacted with both each other and the surface medium they were applied on.

"Dude, I need chemistry, trigonometry and geometry for _Art_! This is so not cool." Mikey walked blearily on Raph's other side as they approached the front statue where Leo told them to meet him.

"Raph, over here!" Leo called from a pillar near the statue as they approached. The urgency in Leo's voice goaded the others to run to his side despite their tiredness.

"What's up?" Raph asked, immediately silencing as he looked at the printed flyer that held his brother's attention. "_Van Dross_" the snarl came unbidden from his lips, his mind focusing solely upon the miniature map that described where the man's main office was located.

"Don, can you find us the blueprints for this place, any security they may have and any other buildings owned by this creep or any substituent corporations operating under a different name?" Leo asked of Don.

"I know where Mr. Van Dross does all of his interviews." A soft voice sounded behind the brothers.

As one they turned, surprised to find that the voice belonged to a delicate young man with extremely pale skin. He looked like carved porcelain figure with lips a natural rosy hue and large golden eyes shining with unfathomable emotions.

"You know him?" Leo asked calmly.

"Unfortunately. He's the one who's keeping me in college. I'm – I'm Jar," he held out his long fingered hand to Leo who took it immediately.

"Leo, these are my brothers, Raph, Don and Mike." Leo replied, noticing with discomfort the shy glance the guy bestowed on Raph before slowly returning his gaze to look at him.

"I can give you everything you need to find him. I've been 'working' for him since I was ten. He adopted me from Saint Stevens." The words sent chills down the brothers' spines.

"We've met some girls who also work for him. They did not have very good experiences with him. Do you work in a similar – ah – capacity?" Don asked nervously.

"No, I'm in business management. He wants me to take over his position as CEO of Black Rose, Inc. Right now I'm his secretary's assistant. I'm learning his trade, unwillingly. He's never touched me like that. Though he thinks he can get away with what he's doing forever. I've been collecting evidence that will hold up in court. Unfortunately he has so much money he can buy his way out of almost anything." Jar replied sadly, his gaze mostly on Leo, though he continuously glanced at Raph with that same shy smile.

"Give us whatever you can." Leo replied as evenly as he could as he continuously attempted to ignore the other man's infatuation with his brother.

"What ain't ya able ta get yer hands on?" Raph asked suddenly, startling Jar, who stared moonstruck at the tallest of the four before him.

Jar swallowed nervously as he fought the brief smile that caught at the corners of his lips, "Anton won't let me anywhere near his main computer. That one is encrypted, and holds all his legitimate and 'special' employee listings and all of his clients. If the information on that computer ever got out, it would destroy him." Jar took out a day planner scrawling notes and drawing a detailed map in the sweltering darkness of late evening as swiftly as he could before turning several pages over to Leo.

"Here is the schedule information for the security guards, the first map details the main building and his office, the second the directions on how to get there. I've included all of the cleaning crew's pass codes. They will grant you access into any room.

"Also, all rooms are security monitored. Tell me when you want to try for it and I will make sure that the cameras are off line." Jar said softly.

"Ya got a cell phone or somethin'?" Raph asked, while kicking himself for actually asking for this guy's number.

With a small nod Jar added his number to the info on the sheet. "Call me whenever. I'm always available." Though he stated it towards Leo, it seemed to be aimed directly at Raph alone and not completely in reference to the work they were discussing.

"Yeah, sure." Leo replied slightly off balance as Raph nodded hiding a grimace.

"Good luck, and thanks, for even thinking of this." Jar looked the brothers over with a last lingering look at Raph before he hunched his shoulder and rushed off towards the decorative line of trees that separated the campus from the main road.

"Dude, was he like, hitting on Raph?" Mikey asked in a deadpan.

"Definitely." Don replied aghast, all earlier exhaustion forgotten.

"That was – interesting." Leo stated dumbly, still completely shaken from the encounter.

"Can we go back now, _please_?" Raph snarled, the whole encounter being far too off the scale of weirdness for even him, and after battling a demonic centuries old Shredder, turning into a flying dragon, going to the future, traveling in outer space, time jumping, going to alien planets, becoming the Nightwatcher and defeating walking stone statues and sending monsters from another dimension back to where they came from, that was saying a lot.

"Raphie's got a boyfriend." Mikey sang in a mocking tone as he cackled and bounced away from the others heading towards the bus stop.

"Can I kill him?" Don asked mortified and thoroughly shell shocked.

"Yes." Leo and Raph replied in unison. Mikey looked back with horrified eyes landing on his brothers, _both_ Leo and Raph were against him on this one, he was so dead. With a girlish screech he bolted for the bus stop, the others right behind him.

From behind the statue Jar smiled shyly, glad to have finally found who he was looking for. He knew he wouldn't have to wait much longer. Soon, his task would be complete then he would only need patience until his time came.

"Guys, I have to get in contact with April." Don said as they waited for the bus. Raph dug in his pockets, pulling out a small handful of change.

"People are careless." He shrugged as he handed the mass of silver coins to Don. The brothers stepped away from the bus stop, heading to the nearest phone booth.

"April? Its Don. No, we're fine. I have a huge favor to ask of you. Can you get in touch with Leatherhead? I need my bag, my laptop, night scope goggles, and we need our weapons. Just trust me, okay? We're coming there shortly, we're taking the bus. No, Leo will call Saint Joseph's and let them know. Always, bye."

Leo squinted as he quickly thought hazel eyes darting from brother to brother. "Raph, you're signing up for the ROTC today. Mikey, go with him, we need a witness that he was there. Don, you're coming with me, we'll get the equipment we need."

Raph smirked, "Decoy, got it."

Raph and Mikey walked across the campus Mikey babbling about the assignments he was given, his impression of the classes, the many hot girls and so many other topics. Raph just nodded, most of the time glaring and broody. He did not want to show the world tht he was biting at the bit, anxious to sign up for something that actually interested him. Neither wondered why the ROTC building was open so late, but when Raph stepped in the recruiters looked up immediately, sensing in the dark skinned boy a solder in hiding.

"Good evening gentlemen." One of the recruiters spoke up from behind the counter, eyeing Mikey uncertainly.

"Evenin'" Raph nodded, "I'd like some information on signin' up please."

"None, for me, I'm just keeping my bro out of trouble." Mikey spoke up with a cheeky gring, earning a few head shakes from the men in the building.

"Technically, we're closed, but you look like you know what you're doing. So, do you have a preferred branch or –"

"Army Rangers," Raph interrupted. He'd looked at the military sights on-line for years, drooling over their vehicles and rigid structure. It appealed to and appalled him, but it was different, and hopefully it would provide him a way to burn off some energy without getting into a fight with Leo.

"Wow, you really like pain, kid. Well, here's what we can do. I can get you into tomorrow's testing to measure where you stand physically. Then we'll get you signed up. If you change your mind at any time, no problem. You only have to decide to continue or not by your senior year."

"Deal." Raph nodded and shook the other man's hand, accepting the white business card with an early morning time written on it.

* * *

><p>"So, how was your first day of college?" Richard asked brightly when the brothers came back close to ten.<p>

"Eye opening." Leo replied flatly, "Although the classes are fascinating. I guess this will just take some getting used to."

"And how did the inquiry to the ROTC go Raph?" Richard asked, he hoped the brothers really had been waiting around for Raph to get signed up in the ROTC and finish his entrance exams as Leo's hurried phone call earlier had relayed.

"Piece of cake, I start at five o'clock sharp tomorra. Captain Epps is coming ta pick me up." Raph smirked at the counselor as if able to read the older man's intentions.

"Well, then off to dinner and bed. You four should probably get some homework in sometime tomorrow as well. You will be very busy for the next few months." Richard smiled as he sent the brothers from the main entrance. The four seemed genuine, but his instincts told him that they were not telling anyone everything.

The four slipped into an unused corner of the study room, each pulling out assignments and working to the best of their abilities. Despite their antics back in the lair, they were good students outside of the dojo. Splinter had taught them the fine art of teaching themselves. Such had allowed them to advance this far on their own, so it was not impossible to jump straight into their course work weeks into the semester, it would just take a lot of work and very careful planning.

"What do we have?" Leo asked Don softly as he poured over his Japanese Philosophy text.

"We don't have the luxury of being able to slip out as needed. We need someone here to cover. So I've uploaded everything into my PDA. Schematics, access codes and anything else I can think of."

"This will be a one turtle mission." Leo said softly just for his brothers to hear, "Don, you have the most advanced course work, and you're supposed to be a genius. You'll stay here to keep up the appearances of you being the model student. Don't argue with me on this one." Leo added quickly forestalling the argument that rose to Don's lips.

The brothers looked at each other, suddenly each comprehending where Leo was going with this. "Ya want me ta do this one solo. No biggie. I'll do it. Just make sure Brainiac and Laughing Boy here get their beauty rest or they'll let on ta the counselor what's goin' on." Raph replied evenly.

"Yes, you're going solo. Today rattled you more than you're letting on, and I can't have you getting into a fight right now. This is the best I can do to get you to blow off some steam and keep us on Barkus' good side. Just be careful, alright?" Leo asked in strained concern before taking in his brother's silent nod and returning to his work.

The brothers worked on their assignments for the rest of the evening, between fending off questions from the other former classmates who were demanding where they had gone to or if the rumors that they had jumped to taking college courses were true. When eleven o'clock finally rolled around they were only too happy to shut books and pack up their assignments. It was time for bed.

Raph lay in his bunk, too keyed to even close his eyes. Leo was right, today had rattled him hard. What he hadn't told his brothers, was that he felt he knew that Jar from somewhere, or at least something in his chest pulsed with the recognition of the other man. He lay in bed, thinking quietly until he heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor on the opposite side of the wall from his bed. With gentle movements, keeping himself pressed against the walls, Raph slipped shuko spikes over his hands, and pulled himself horizontally across the wall, just above the bunks. He was grateful these rooms were made of plain brick walls.

When he got to the window, Leo was already there, standing to watch the moon, a large duffle sitting on the ledge as he drew the heavy drapes away from the wall and hid behind them, enclosing him and Raph away from the rest of the sleeping room. Raph nodded once, signaling Leo to continue with his charade. Leo turned from the window, escaping the heavy drapes and turning back to their sleeping brothers. Behind him the drapes and sheers fluttered in the night breeze, the window empty and alone.

Getting away from the orphanage was the easy part. If they had wanted to the brothers could have split the first time they woke up before anyone knew who they were. It would have been easy, but it also would have been cowardly. They were turtles and no turtle had ever sought the easy way out. Especially if the easy way out might have kept them away from their father.

Raph leapt from the Orphanage's rooftop to flip silently onto the steep slope of the nearby steeple. The going was swift, the buildings close together giving easier access to steep rooftops. Once he was far enough away, Raph came to a stop, scouring the rooftops for possible Foot or Purple Dragons, and slipped further into a darkened corner to slip into a black sneak suit courtesy of April and slipped his sai into his belt for the first time in what felt like weeks.

Leaping across the old familiar skyline byways allowed Raph to feel almost normal since the whole fiasco had started. He allowed himself to forget being human as much as he could, to ignore the delicate skin and soft hands. The weak muscles and lithe body that felt willowy instead of rock hard. The prickling along his scalp where hair was beginning to grow in and the too tight clinging of the black cloth … Raph snorted, who was he kidding? He could never forget that he was now human. It was like trying to forget watching Leo fall when the Utrom Shredder destructed his ship while they were still on it. Leo still bore the scars, even in this human shape. They all bore their scars, marks of victories and defeat.

The university finally came into view, and from there it was only a short jaunt away to the headquarters of Black Rose. Raph stilled looking over the silent sprawling complex that was the University. He pulled a shell cell from Donny's bag of tricks.

"Jar?" He asked over the line when it was picked up with a timid 'hello'.

"Raphael? Are you there yet?" The young man's voice seemed to change, becoming calmer, more assured. Although the voice on the other side of the line was still the timid, bashful voice from earlier that day, Raph wondered if it wasn't actually a different man speaking through the youth.

"Almost. I need the exterior cameras off, an' any rooftop security disabled. Can ya do that for me?" Raph hunkered further into the shadows refusing to be caught off guard if he could help it. He watched the sparkling city below him with watchful, jaded eyes. Raph knew the darkness that lurked beneath the sparkling lights, he had once hunted it. Now, he had to just get through it unnoticed to help protect his younger brothers from the psycho, Van Dross.

"Yes, I can do that. Just give me ten minutes." The sound of typing and soft beeping filled the other side of the line, causing Raph to still, eyes wide with realization of where Jar was.

"Jar, what are ya doin' there? What if I hadn't come?" Raph barked under his breath, making sure his voice would not carry in the breezy heights of the cityscape. He left unvoiced the heart wrenching fury at the thought of this stranger coming to any harm. He felt something for Jar and even though he knew it was stupid to fall for _a guy_, let alone one he just met, he just didn't care. Jar was important somehow Raph just had to figure out how.

"One of the regular guards called in, so I volunteered to cover. I'll be relieved in a couple more hours." Jar replied calmly, his voice carrying that warm shyness from earlier that day.

Raph shuddered; this guy was hitting on him, still! He did not know which was worse, the kid's shy glances and the affectionate lilt that filled his voice or the fact that he was actually enjoying it. Raph swallowed as softly as he could, trying desperately not to show his discomfort, or lose his cool. "Just let me know when ya've got the security off would ya?"

"It's ready." Jar replied moments later. "Take it slow, it resets in nine minutes. The west light will flash twice when it's safe. Raphael?" He asked after a momentary pause.

"Yeah," Raph asked as he began moving once again, he leapt over a gap between two rooftops in silence, timing his progress as he made a narrow arc around the Black Rose building coming upon it from the west. He located the corner that would most likely hold the light Jar had spoken of and hunkered down to wait.

"Be careful?"

The request stilled Raph's feet. If this kid knew what he really was, he'd be screaming about a monster. In any other circumstances they would have had no reason to meet, let alone talk to each other. Jar knew nothing of what Raph and the others were, they weren't human, and while the thought of having a _guy_ hit on him was right up there on the creep factor with O'Shoko Nabo, Raph had this sinking feeling that if circumstances weren't what they were he might actually like the kid, if he didn't kill him first for the continuous shy advances.

"Same fer ya, Jar, yer the one in the hot seat." Raph closed the cell, hoping to complete the rest of this mess in silence, his hopes dashed when the cell vibrated in his hand.

"What?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Dude, you really need ta work on your people skills. Listen Raph, I know yer busy an' all so I'll make this fast. I think I found Splinter! Over at Judson Memorial, this little Asian dude appeared same night you all vanished. Only, this guy's in a trance. Six men came ta take him to the hospital but he wouldn't budge. It was like they couldn't touch him. He only said one thing before he tranced out on the staff. 'I am waiting for my sons.'

"That's it, nothing else. I tried ta see him taday, but I couldn't get over there. The Dragons have been up ta something, an widout you guys I'm workin' this thing solo!" Casey spouted, trying to make his spiel quick, and failing miserably in Raph's opinion.

"Listen Raph, I think they're goin' after the First Federal Bank of all places, it's like they're tryin' ta lure ya guys out or somethin'."

"Yo, Case, just chill a'right? I'm kinda in the middle of somethin' right now, so I'll call ya when I'm done. Just give me half an hour. If they really are waiting then they'll still be there." Raph snapped the phone shut, the western light flashing twice just as he hid the phone back in Don's satchel.

With a huffed sigh Raph leapt from the building to land on the Black Rose rooftop on silent feet. He padded silently, pulling the PDA from the bag at his side to check his directions. He double checked the information Don had given him, taking an extra moment to memorize his route through the building before he shoved the thing back in the bag and jogged lightly over to a stairwell door.

Jar watched through the monitor feeds with awed eyes as the dark skinned youth moved with the grace of a feral panther through the building. Muscles rippling through the black cloth of the suit he wore, Raphael was little more than a dark wraith shifting through the shadows of the silent halls. Raphael was power and grace filled with a dark flame that glittered from his eyes above the cloth that masked his lower face. Here, Jar could tell he was in his element. Gone was the anger and angst of earlier. The stiff uncertainty was absent. Now Raph was pure force, a power all his own, untouchable and untamed, just a alluring as a distant beckoning fire.

Suddenly, the dark figure vanished from the screen as he walked into a shadow, and never emerged. Jar flipped rapidly through the many feeds silent worry goading his search until finally coming to Van Dross's office and pausing in wide eyed amazement. The door was still locked and alarmed. Somehow Raph had materialized into the room like a phantom. Jar was positive Raph was more than a mere student, regardless of earlier appearances.

The PDA was linked to the main computer on the desk, lights from the monitor flashing in a Technicolor kaleidoscope across the back wall as files were copied and stolen. Raph turned from the machine walking across the room calmly as if he could already tell what was hidden there. He approached a drab painting, pulling it away from the wall gently, and materializing a long knife in his free hand that he slipped between the wall and the painting, disengaging the security wire without triggering the alarm.

Jar breathed a sigh of relief; he had not disengaged the security for the safes hidden in his adoptive father's office. He never thought the brothers would get this far despite their best intentions, or that Raphael would be the one to come. The golden eyed young man shifted to sit closer to the small monitor, watching with rapture and fascination as the silhouette on screen slipped the knife towards the safe, somehow opening it in seconds, pulling out blackmail documents Van Dross would prefer to never see the light of day.

Raphael sighed wearily when a soft beep notified him he was out of time. He closed and locked the safe, replacing the picture he had taken from the wall and securing the security trip wire back to the cheap magnet on the back. He returned to the PDA, shutting it down then the computer before leaping silently back into the vent that brought him here. The return trip to the roof top was quiet, but it only served to make him more alert and nervous. His mission had gone well, almost easily, and the Turtles never had 'easy'. Everything that came their way was hard, this night was only going to get worse, he could already tell.

He only marginally allowed himself to breathe when his feet crunched the textured roofing as he slipped from the stairwell. He was free from the Black Rose. Now, all he had to do was get out of Dodge and call his man Casey. He suppressed a snort. 'Yeah, it's really gonna be that easy.' He finally sprinted across the rooftop, leaping away to finally come to a rest some six buildings down.

"You're amazing." A voice sounded softly just barely above the breeze from the shadow of a stairwell near where Raph rested.

Raph spun, sai out face set in a fierce snarl as he rounded on the voice behind him. He stopped short when he realized he was staring straight at Jar, pale skin gleaming in the moonlight, eyes glowing with an ethereal luminescence that somehow didn't seem natural. Yet, the boy felt familiar somehow. It was similar to being back home with his bros arms nearly crushed together as they all tried to occupy the same couch. It was the similar sensation of being around something not human, something maybe not even mammal. It was a disturbing thought, but comforting just the same.

"How did ya know where ta find me?" Raph rumbled uncomfortably, looking around the rooftop warily expecting an attack in all directions.

"Raphael, please, let me see your face?" Jar asked almost timidly, his face shy despite a growing sadness that formed his dark lips into a sorrowful pout. The image brought up pictures of vampires to Raph's mind as he looked Jar over before worriedly once more until he finally slipped one sai into his belt to draw his face mask away.

The pale youth stepped forward, almost uncomfortably close, golden eyes reduced to glimmering rims of sparkling non-color around massive pupils dilated wide in the dark, yet somehow seeming to be overly wide slits instead of circles that was the norm to most animals.

"What do ya want?" Raph asked, horrified to hear a hint of nervous hope tinting his voice and stripping it of the sheltering anger that aided to keep others at arm's length.

"A memory" Jar replied cryptically in a hushed murmur that sounded suspiciously like an endearment as he slipped into Raph's tense arms, sliding his narrow arms around the taller boy's waist in an intimate embrace.

Raph froze, he didn't know what to do, for the life of him he knew he should be raising Cain over the loss of personal space, but he just couldn't bring himself to do anything against the slim figure clinging to him. Somehow Jar was entrapping him, binding him with those golden eyes that were both longing and sad and distant and joyous all at the same time. A lump formed in Raph's throat, unable to swallow against the tightness that kept him mute. He felt as if he were suffocating as if Jar were somehow stealing his breath and stilling his lungs as he leaned the final few inches towards Raph bringing their lips together in a sealing caress.

Raph physically flinched when the boy's lips pressed gently against his. All the revulsion, the stomach churning sense of violation and near violent denial he had expected to wash over him never came. As the kiss lingered, he only felt a melancholy sense of wholeness that brought tears to sting the backs of his eyes. It was a first kiss and a last kiss good-bye, kept chase and achingly tender. Yet he could not fathom why. Raph trembled as his hands found their way around Jar's shoulders, his one remaining sai held in a light grip his stance ready for any enemy should they come.

It felt like an instant far too short and an unending eternity before they parted, Jar's golden eyes lowered sadly. Raph wanted to know what could cause such sorrow within those eyes, though he would violently deny ever harboring such emotions, when his shell cell went off from the bag. With a start he fumbled for the phone. He yanked it from the bag, looking to Jar at the same instant, floored when he realized he now stood alone on the silent rooftop.

"Yeah?" Raph snarled harshly as he flipped the cell open. He felt bereft, lost without an answer to the riddle of the golden eyes.

"Dude, it's been like forty-five minutes! Where are you?" Casey hissed into the phone, his voice filled with a controlled panic that spoke volumes of his plight. The clangs and hollers growing increasingly louder in the background did little to calm Raph's frayed nerves.

"Keep yer shirt on dufus. I'm on my way, three minutes." Raph huffed, listening to the sound of the one o'clock express whistling in the background before he hung up, he bounded across the gaping alleys that lay in his path as he headed towards the nicer side of town. He shoved every last iota of emotion he had felt while Jar held him, locking it down in the darkest pit in his soul that he could find and buried it beneath years of anger and angst.

He was a turtle, their father was still missing and this city still crawled with the criminal element. He would not let himself get so easily distracted, damnit, he was not soft like Donny was or a dreamer like Mikey. He was a monster! He was the black sheep and the reason their family remained at odds so often.

He had to remember every misdeed and failure to keep his family safe, he had to remember, to keep him from going soft. His brothers could find a life for them; they were better than he was, than he could ever be. He never could claim anything but his duty to protect his family, it was his penance, his quest for justice for each pain and hurt and it kept him sane. Whatever Jar wanted from him would have to be let go. He could not afford to let someone not of his family get in his way. Though, he still wondered where all the revulsion he once felt towards the slightly older boy went. Half an hour ago he wanted nothing to do with Jar, now he wanted to see that boy smile, even if only to say good-bye.

Casey was waiting for Raph on the edge of a three story diner with apartments in the upper floors diagonal from a grey concrete church. For his part the older man took Raph's appearance in stride.

"What the – Damn!" Casey stared completely slack jawed at the strange black kid who had suddenly appeared at his side, though the black eyes that gleamed at him could only belong to Raph. "April warned me ya looked different, I guess I didn't believe her."

"So where are dey?" Raph looked over the edge diagonally away from the church were a line of armored cars idling in the deepening night. Thugs stood out on the street corners, every one of them looking ready for the next gang war. The exterior of the bank was liberally coated with graphic graffiti depicting the purple dragon eating four turtles. "They're hunting alright guess they never understood that they're the prey." Raph gave a feral sneer, his signature battle grimace more disturbing than ever on the young face of a human boy.

Casey shuddered, Raph the turtle was intimidating enough, Raph the skinny human kid grinning like a feral monster was downright terrifying. "Dude, never smile like that in public, 'kay? You'll have every priest in the burro on your head wantin' to perform an exorcism or somethin'."

Raph looked at his friend sardonically and smirked, "Wuss."

"Now that ain't funny Raph. Raph?" Casey looked around incredulously, amazed at how the turtle could vanish without a trace, even if he was human now. Maybe his friend being human made it even more disturbing. The Foot was not even that silent, and that may be why his friends were still alive when so many had fallen.

Leo sighed as he attempted to find rest in his bunk. His thoughts spiraled madly tonight, Sensei was still missing, and so far there were no leads. If he could think where to start they would split and turn their backs on this place in a heartbeat, but something kept him here. Unfortunately, the only places he could think of to find their master were the same places he was positive April and Casey or LH and Honeycutt had looked already.

And, what had happened to them two 'was it only two?' nights ago anyways? The spiders, the blue silk – being unconscious – could they have been out of it for longer than just one day? Would they have noticed? And, why did they appear here, in one of the last remaining orphanages in America? It was too weird, too mind boggling to figure out.

With another sigh Leo stood, once more beginning his pacing and sparing only a tiny thought that he could be disturbing the others. He should be meditating, but he just could not bring himself to right now. He _needed_ to be awake and alert, just like Mikey and Donny _needed_ to know what normal felt like. This was his brothers' chance to find themselves, and they deserved it. Some small part of him wished they could maintain this farce indefinitely, another, knew that they would have to return to the sewers and the silence of their underground realm all too soon.

His thoughts turned once more as his eyes lingered momentarily on Mikey's sleeping face. Raph was still out, his agreed upon curfew of one thirty past and forgotten. 'Typical, he can't even do one thing right. I bet he's out there playing vigilante right now. He probably even called up Casey and got into a fight. If he has even one scratch on him that Barkus, Bates or Russell can see I'm going to kill him myself.'

The dark thought was allowed to enter his mind and pass. It was just another grumble against his one brother that could get under his shell without trying. Raphael was too much like him, both were fiercely protective of their family, both felt near physical pain at the thought of failure, and both became complete asses when they felt they had something to prove. Raph had helped him screw his head back on the right way more times than he could count, and the courtesy ran both ways.

'Well, maybe Raph will work that Jar kid out of his system. If he gets into something he can handle he'll just let off some steam and we'll have peace for a few more days, hopefully.'

Leo sighed, speaking of Raph, his volatile brother was cutting it really close this time. They had agreed that he be back before two at the latest when the night guard came and checked all the rooms in the routine head count, he had ten minutes to get back before his absence was discovered. Leo turned and continued to pace in the darkness between the many bunks in the room. He allowed his thoughts to continue to spiral, hoping they would dredge up something to keep him occupied until Raph returned.

Leo actually liked the men in charge of taking care of the boys in the facility. Even the Headmaster worked hard to protect his charges. There was however, Mr. Van Dross, the man was slime, especially as he was always hanging around the high school entrance in the mornings. He claimed he was offering opportunities to the kids about to graduate, and many of the teachers believed him.

All of the girls who took him up on his offers were beautiful, sweet, naive and flirty. And, none had ever come back after graduation, even though most had said they would. It seemed that the girls had formed a pact of silence once they were inducted into the clutches of Black Rose Modeling. Van Dross, however, had covered his tracks far too well, claiming to be a representative with a modeling and staffing firm, helping the young ladies and few young men a chance to step into the working world and their independence. Drose Staffing Solutions, the company was legitimate; however none of the girls working for Van Dross were employees. Officially, Black Rose did not even exist. If it was not for Jar, they would not have known where to go to take down the creep. All of Don's fancy computer work had revealed nothing of the man, and they would have had nothing to send Raph out with beside the sketchy map from the flyer on campus.

Leo paused in both pacing and thoughts looking down on Mikey as he slept. Their baby brother slept fitfully these days, constantly worried about Klunk and Master Splinter. They were all worried, but Mikey's worries always became nightmares. They usually could laugh them off, his strange mind twisting nightmare and fantasy into a humorous mixture that was only frightening while dreaming. Leo pulled the tangled blanket back over his brother, smiling in amusement at Mikey's random mumbling of pizza and gold fish crackers trying to eat him. Shaking his head, Leo continued to pace, leaving the lower bunk that held Mikey.

He moved the half step to Don's head where he slept above Mikey. Don had held up here better than Leo had anticipated. Their most intuitive brother having somehow managed to make a few friends with his constant curiosity and quiet charms was showing his stress as he usually did. He buried himself in his work. Leo placed his hand gently on Donny's forehead as Splinter used to when they were little before sliding the dangling arm back onto the bunk.

With his youngest brothers accounted for and sound asleep Leo could continue his pacing. He knew that their rouse of Raph heading to bed early with a headache would not last much longer. The pillows under the sheets would never fool the night guard. The man was a former military drill sergeant and had seen every trick in the book new recruits could fathom to escape the barracks for a night on the town.

Turning back, Leo stilled by the bunk Raph had been assigned. He sighed he still could not convince the Headmaster to switch his bunk to be closer to Raph. They had been separated since their arrival, Don and Mikey had been switched to sleep closer together, the hardheaded Barkus caving into Mikey's pleas yet firmly refusing any favors to Leo or Raph for their initial disrespect he had felt radiating off of them. So, Raph had made the most of his predicament, having the entire bed to himself he had taken over the top bunk, and Leo looked up, without realizing, placing his hand upon the pillow that had taken his brother's place since lights out, except the pillow was hard.

'What the-? When did he get back?' Leo stared incredulously at the dark hand that suddenly covered his own in a fierce grip,

"Ya know betta than that Fearless." Raph ground out warningly. "Ya know I hate bein' touched, especially when I don't feel so hot." Dark eyes focused on Leo, staring him down before giving a conspiratorial wink. "You owe me one." Raph murmured, keeping his voice low for only Leo to hear. Leo sighed testily following Raph's lead and smirked.

"I take it your feeling better?" Leo's voice hardened deadpanning the question.

"Yeah, it's taken care of and by mornin' I'll be one hundred percent. Now scram, I gotta deal wid Captain Epps in the mornin'." Leo smiled at his brother, placing his hand on the smooth forehead before turning and heading to his bunk, finally able to sleep now that his family was once more back together. He returned back to his bunk, finding sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He never questioned where Raph had stored the information, he just assumed they would take care of it in the morning.

* * *

><p><em>Raphael looked around the darkened landscape warily, massive trees towered high overhead while the hard packed earth was little more than mottled darkness in the deep quiet of the night. The night was heavy, the very air tense in silence as nothing stirred, no insect chirred, no nocturnal creature called out their hunger. There was only the still void. <em>

_Raph pulled his sai from his belt, the sharp tipped blades scraping familiarly across his plastron. Crouching low, he stalked with the ingrained fluid grace his sensei had pounded into him and his brothers to the nearest forest giant. With his shell to a tree, he felt a slight comfort in having one still point to move from. From the right, a rustling sounded, a hushing sigh familiar and terrifying. It was the sound of a snake slithering through the fallen leaves and underbrush._

'_If this thing's a snake it'll make LH look like a toy.' The rustling moved ever closer, until a shadow separated from the darkness, its form glowing from within. Raph gasped, pressing himself closer against the tree at his back. The figure was Jar!_

"_You came." The figure slithered closer, Jar from head to waist, snake from the waist down. The boy's features had altered as well, his face mutated into a strange mix of human and snake. _

_Raph swallowed tightly, his gut tightening with repressed longing to reach out to that alien yet familiar face. "Wha – What's goin' on here Jar? I know this ain't no dream, were somewhere else, an' my body's still in that orphanage."_

_Jar smiled, sliding the last few feet closer until he could wrap his long arms around Raph's bulky form. "I will be waiting for you. Like you, I am not as I seem. You'll understand soon, just remember me, and remember this jungle. This is where I'll be waiting."_

_Golden eyes luminescent in the darkness, Jar had become a creature of myth, transformed into something unknown. Raph nodded silently to the other's plea, knowing he would remember to his dying day those endless eyes and this jungle of darkness. _

_He did not remember doing it, he only recognized what he had done when the memorizing pools of gold were suddenly closed. He was kissing Jar, that same slow tender kiss from the rooftop. Jar tilted his head slightly, his mouth opening slightly as he deepened the exchange. Raph stepped forward, pushing Jar as he went until the serpent was pressed against a thick tree. Trapped within the turtle's arms Jar allowed himself to be maneuvered, relishing every second he could steal with the amazing creature that held him._

_Jar pulled away slightly, allowing both to catch their breath. He traced the shell lower, finding the gentle curve at Raph's hips, pulling the other flush against him. "Please."_

_Raph stilled at the gasped plea. He did not know what he was doing, only that if there was something that felt better than this, he would gladly give up everything to keep it. He captured Jar in another deep kiss, tracing his hands down the backs of the other's shoulders and along his arms until he could return his caress to the long back._

"_Help me out here would ya?" Raph rumbled his voice a mixture of plea and demand. Cool hands covered his, guiding the caressing hands to their goal. Raph rumbled his need, pressing closer to the other as he was guided by Jar's hands down until a soft moan erupted from the serpent in finding what he sought._

"_Useful" Raph replied huskily as he stroked Jar firmly …_

*Taken from the TMNT video game.

**Leo's line from the Battle Nexus.

AN:: Mikey going on about his name has a reason. In the original 80s comics it was misspelled, and no one caught it. So in respect of their origins, I'm keeping it. I just had to find a reason for him to make a fuss over it. ^.^


	3. A Wilted Rose

Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly enough. All rights belong to Mirage Studios and Nickelodeon.

* * *

><p>A Wilted Rose<p>

Marble steps glittered in the moonlight, their glowing luminescence blocked where a man lay. The chill March breeze flitted playfully through the short tresses adorning the man's head. The cold marble and fliting breeze should have goaded the well dressed man from his slumber, yet he did not stir. Surrounding his still form a fine misting spatter of dark, dried blood discolored the few small stairs and the aged wooden doors they led to.

"Hey buddy, it's getting late why don't ya get in the church and sleep it off." An older man in sweats knelt by the downwards facing man. He reached his age spotted hand to shake the younger man awake only to stop a fraction of an inch from the suit clad shoulder.

"Jesus Christ!" the breath left the older man's throat in a strangled gasp. He had seen his fill death and destruction when he served as a junior ranking officer a long time ago, but the years had dulled the mind numbing fear and subsequent immunity against the specter of death that filled the war worn veins. Now, with a shudder of terror and a furtive look about him with hardened eyes, the old man rose to his feet, racing to the nearest corner store, every step a prayer falling from nervous lips. It was not finding a dead man that had scared him, it was the warmth still exuding from the corpse and the jerky spasms from the muscles exposed within the horrific hollow eye sockets that told of his recent death. The killer could still be nearby.

"Help, police!"

* * *

><p>Headmaster Barkus entered his office early the next morning with a tired yawn. His days started early and ended late. He lived for his work, and after a career in the military, his wife divorcing him for always being away while he put his ass on the line for his country, the routine was welcome. The kids were mostly grateful to have a place to stay. Here, he was a father figure, without the headaches of a thankless and faithless wife. It suited him just fine.<p>

The moment he shut the door behind him he froze, there was something off about his office today. He stilled, cold grey eyes searching every inch of his private sanctuary over, until he noticed the small pile of discs, manila envelopes and the one external hard drive that occupied his chair. Without even thinking, Barkus called the police. The last thing he needed was a bomb going off in his office with so many children in the area.

With the police on the way, he rushed from his office, going straight to the front entry and sounding the alarm for all to evacuate the building. Dr. Bates and Mr. Russell led the boys from the dormitory, while Sister Mary Elizabeth and Miss Stevenson led the girls, all in their night clothes and bleary eyed in the early hour. Young voices rose in fright, too loud whispers of fire and bad things filling the corridors.

"Everyone, attention, kids follow your assigned counselor. Everybody find a buddy and hold hands as we cross the street! Boys, I don't care if your man enough to grow a mustache and draw your own tattoos, you will hold another boy's hand across that street or so help me!" Barkus growled, his standing threats a long held joke amongst the older kids.

"Headmaster? Where are the Brothers?" A young boy asked as he pulled his buddy, a teen of seventeen, to Barkus' side.

"The Hamatos? They're not here?" Barkus demanded, about to run to the boy's dorm when one of the girls spoke up.

"Sir, I overheard Mr. Russell giving Raphael permission to attend something called ROTC." The girl's ebony hair was everywhere as she rubbed sleepy onyx eyes. "I think they all went early. There were voices in the hall earlier."

Barkus felt his ire rise, if he found out that this was caused by those boys he would send them to boot camp himself! His thoughts were cut off as he ushered the tail end of the students out of the orphanage just as the SWAT team showed up with the bomb squad. The many police and fire vehicles kept the kids interested and entertained as he informed the unit commander of the situation.

"Are any of your children not accounted for?" Lieutenant Blackwell asked after Barkus finished.

"Well, one of our older kids, Raphael Hamato was given permission to attend the ROTC at the university. His brothers are not here so we're hoping they went with him, but we have no sign out papers for them." Barkus rumbled worriedly.

"Listen, give us some photos and descriptions of these boys and we'll send someone to check on them. For now, just keep your youngsters out of the way and out of the streets. We'll finish here as fast as can." The Lieutenant looked away to his men, his deep brown skin and dark curly hair belying his origins somewhere in the Middle East. As the officers went to work, Barkus returned to his kids, hoping against hope that the four brothers were safe.

"Lieutenant!" A young dark skinned SWAT officer jogged up, eyes bright with shock, "Sir, you've got to see this!" The men jogged into the orphanage and to Barkus' office looking at one of their men who had already checked the media upon the chair for bombs or hazardous material. Upon his left arm rested a small lap top that displayed a young girl, maybe sixteen at most sobbing and crying as she was fondled by an older man with long blonde hair.

"_Remember, Sherry, say one word, breathe anything to Barkus and you will never see a family, ever," The long haired man said in a sickening purr towards the young girl as he pulled her head closer and forced a deep kiss._

"_I p-promise Mr. Van Dross, I won't tell." The girl sobbed as the man stepped away, drawing a frightened boy of about fifteen into the camera's view._

"_Jarrod, you will be taking my place when you're older, so for now let's begin your education. Take her." The man barked at the terrified boy…_

The kneeling SWAT officer swallowed sickly, "Man, this Van Dross dude is sick. I don't know what's been going on here, but from what the girl from the disc said before he had her clothes off, she praised this place as her sanctuary. She practically called that Barkus dude her surrogate father. Seems this sicko's been preying upon this place for years." The Hispanic officer replied with a grimace as he stood, ejecting the disc and placing it gently with the others.

"Hey, wait," a woman stepped forward. "That kid, the boy. I think he was in the news this morning." The only woman on the team was taller than her colleges by a good head and well muscled, somehow mixing the well toned physique and her own natural beauty into a stunning figure.

"Where did you see this Rosie?" the Lieutenant asked immediately curious.

"The kid was Jarrod Van Dross, adopted son of that sicko who had been raised here. He died today, after being in a shock induced coma for four years. No one knew what caused it, though the doctors all claimed some type of violent sexual assault. The poor kid never woke up to testify."

The varied officers called for the regular police, handing over the documents and media devices to their counterparts before vacating to a call on the lower east side, apparently the Purple Dragon clan had gotten sloppy, caught in their own bank heist. This was going to be adventurous. The Swat officers raced off with a whoop, unaware that someone else had gotten to the gang well before them.

* * *

><p>"Dude, you're seriously making me tired just looking at you." Mikey gaped as Raph finally jogged up to them at a central cement bench close to the open field he had been put through training maneuvers on.<p>

Steam rose from Raph's skin, perspiration beading along his shaved head and sliding down his neck to further soak the grey 'ROTC ARMY' shirt given to him yesterday. The drills had taken most of the early morning while the others had sat around completing assignments or reading ahead.

"You know Raph, if you keep this up you just might learn to follow orders." Leo ribbed his younger brother, earning him a halfhearted, sated snarl.

"Well, someone's in a good mood. I think the exercise has done you some good." Don grinned at his tallest brother fondly. It was rare that Raph would just snarl at Leo's taunting. Usually harsh words and fists were his reply.

"Yeah, this whole business ain't been too good fer my temper. You know me, if I can punch it, I can beat it." Raph replied calmly, the endorphin rush still high enough to make him almost lethargic, though the others were all too well aware that he would be wound all the tighter later on when the high faded and the afteraffects of yesterday's venture resurfaced.

"Dude, the paper is out already?" Mikey gaped as he jogged to snag an early edition before the dew made it soggy. He raced back to the table looking over the front page before suddenly freezing mid step, "Uh, guys?" He held out the paper to Leo, showing a photo of Jar on the front page, with the announcement of his death after being in a coma for four years. "This is so totally creepy, bro!"

Raph stared in stunned horror at the picture on the cover. There, staring calmly out from a dark background was Jar. The article spoke of a now ninteen-year-old young man who had been in a shock induced coma for the last four years. Where the authorities had never discovered the cause of the boy's – Jarred Van Dross – condition they had plenty of suspicion. Jarrod's adopted father, Anthony Van Dross, had been devastated at the time. The police had considered him their prime suspect, only there was no evidence against him. The boy's only testimonial were the signs of sexual activity, whether as a willing participant or not was never proven.

Jarred had died at one-thirty the previous night, a strange contented smile on his face. The medical staff all felt that an angel had guided young Jarred, and all were sad at his passing, as it always hurts to lose someone so young.

Raph swallowed painfully, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. He had held, loved a spirit waiting to pass.

"_What do you want?"_

"_A memory."_

Those words made sense now, Jarred, Jar – whoever – had wanted to feel loved, if even for the wrong reasons, and to move on. The astral projection he had been pulled into the night before had been amazing, and if that was Jar's parting gift, then it would be enough for a lifetime. It was more than he deserved, as it was likely the most any of his brothers would ever receive of such passion from another. Still, his body longed to join with the other boy – Spirit? Serpent? – once more. Jar had been addicting, someone he would be willing to stand beside forever.

Seeing his one night stand spirit-lover staring at him from a memorial photo taken four years ago was macabre and surreal. Raph would remember Jar forever, to honor the boy who had died alone in empty silence.

"How – I don't believe it, he was a ghost – more like an astral projection. As if he could manifest a physical shape, but how did he find us?" Don murmured, his ever questioning brain immediately turning to unravel the current mystery.

"Hamato!" Captain Epps called as he jogged across the field with a police officer in step at his heels, "You need to find your brothers, Officer Bearing needs to speak with you."

"We are his brothers." Leo said calmly as he stood to face the men, once more frustrated that so many assumed them to be unrelated just because of Raph's changed skin tone. "What can we do for you Officer?"

"You are the Hamato brothers?" Bearing asked calmly, pulling out his note pad and looking over four pictures of the boys. "Well, there was a disturbance at the orphanage –"

"Is everyone alright?"

"What happened?"

"Do we need to go back?" three of the brothers immediately clamored, each concerned that something could have come after them at their unwanted second home. Officer Bearing looked them over silently, studying the boys critically.

Raph rumbled threateningly in the back of his throat, all earlier good feelings long gone as he leaned forward, dark eyes boring into the officer's with dangerous ferocity, "Answer." The low rumble visibly shook Bearing and even Epps was looking at Raph with discomfort shining in his eyes.

"There was a scare at the orphanage, it has turned out to be nothing, but the Headmaster wanted to be sure that you four were actually here and not in some kind of danger." The morning light glinted off of the officer's badge, shining a ray of light onto the open paper.

Raph followed the stray beam of light to where it rested on Jar's face, and froze, his focus solely on the picture before him, tuning out the officer and his brothers. Jar's eyes, they were emerald. Their glittering depths an exact match for Raph's former skin coloring only deep like a cut gem. Why had the specter of the unconscious boy held golden eyes?

Mind racing he thought back on all that Sensei had taught them about meditation, if there was an answer, Splinter would know. The thought held little comfort. They still had to find their father, and that would have to wait just a little longer.

Could another spirit have taken over? Or used the latent life force within Jarrod Van Dross as a link to the living realm? Raph stilled, his thoughts going back years ago when they were still fresh from returning from the Utroms. Splinter had been meditating, his spirit and mind reaching far away from his physical form, reaching that of a dying man in Japan. The two had swapped bodies, the old man gaining the form of their father for a day. They had helped the old man pass on his heritage to his grandson. When the passing was complete Master Splinter and the old man returned to their bodies.

"_I will be waiting … Like you, I am not as I seem. You'll understand soon, just remember me, and remember this jungle…"_

"Raphael!" Leo barked, finally breaking into Raph's haze. Leo looked worriedly at his brother. Raph was expressive, in his own way, but he had been completely blank as if in a trance for the past few minutes, sitting so still that he could have given Master Splinter a run for his money in the meditation department.

"Leo, what if Van Dross did this to him?" Raph asked quietly, still staring at the green eyed boy in the picture.

"But," Donny objected immediately, "Van Dross _adopted_ him! How could he?"

"Rememba what that creep did ta ya and Mikey, Don. He _touched_ you." Raph snarled staring down his younger brothers.

"Whoa, who touched your brothers?" Bearing demanded, breaking into the sibling brawl just waiting to happen.

"Yestaday, we had just taken our entrance exams fer Saint Joseph's Catholic High an' were waitin' fer school ta start. We were talkin' ta a girl who had taken a 'position' wid Van Dross to get a job an' please 'er parents. Only she didn't know what kinda monster he is. He saw us and figured us fer bein' model material, 'specially Mike an' Don. He didn'a just touch 'em. The sick bastard _caressed _their faces. I wanted ta punch the bastard but Father Steve was comin' up an' we promised Barkus no fights." Raph growled with an ugly snarl, eyes glittering dangerously with imagined vengeance.

"Raph," Leo warned, "cool it. Nothing happened to our brothers, nothing will."

"Oh and how do you know that Fearless?" Raph snapped, eyes livid. "That sick bastard could've done a lot more if Fathah Steve hadn't been comin' an' you know it!"

"_Raphael_." Leo snapped, the effect of the full name immediately cooling Raph's temper by a degree or so.

"Did you boys report this to anyone?" Epps demanded, immediately angry at the sicko who could get under his newest and youngest recruit's skin so easily while filing away the affect Leo had on him.

"No," Leo replied calmly, "We were complying with the girl's wishes, though I guess it's too late now." The oldest brother sighed in resignation. "Uh, sirs, we still need breakfast and if we don't move we'll be late. May we go now?"

"Go on," Bearing sighed, "I won't keep you, but stick close to either the campus or Saint Margaret's, okay? I don't need any more statistics."

The brothers chorused their agreements as they jogged off to the nearby student union and the many venues offered there. Raph led the way to a small health breakfast kiosk, knowing they needed to literally eat and run. The brothers quickly picked up their food paying for it with funds on their student cards. Raph led them to an empty corner near their English class.

"Guys, Casey held me up last night, he thinks he found sensei, but can't reach him. I think Sensei's in meditation, only so deep he either can't get out or won't. We need ta go bust him out afta' school. We think he's in Judson Memorial ovha on the lower East side." Raph began around mouthfuls of egg sandwich.

"You saw Casey?"Leo demanded angrily.

"Yeah, he had an issue wid' da Foot." Raph smirked, "I took care of dem, but that still leaves Sensei."

Leo sighed, "Alright, we'll contact Casey and April. We will check out Judson Memorial and see if Splinter is there." Leo shook his head, what could they tell the authorities? 'Guess what? We found our father zoned out in a homeless shelter.' It would never work.

"Leo, we need Sensei to find us to go home." Don reminded gently, shrugging with defeat. His mind on the same path as Leo's.

"Dudes, you're forgetting one major detail!" Mikey pipped up, "Today's the day they file the found child report for us." The others stared at Mikey blankly, wondering what he was working up to.

"Wait, that means that they have to go to the police." Leo paled, "Guys, this could make things awkward."

"Not if Sensei already has filed a missing person's report." Don piped up beaming, suddenly on the same conclusion Mikey was painting. "We need Nobody. He still has a police persona he uses for official business. We file a report with him for ourselves dated the night we went missing. According to procedure they have to wait forty-eight hours before filing the reports.

"By the time Barkus reports finding us they'll already have us in the system!" The brothers nodded.

"Alright, Mikey once we get out of class get in contact with Nobody. Don, call up April and Casey. They need to be there to get Sensei to their place. Once we get done with classes we need Nobody to get in contact with April and Casey, preferably with the file already reported. After that, I don't care if getting back with Sensei takes one day or a year, we will act as if we still are searching for Sensei." Leo stared each of his brothers down engraining his words in them. They all nodded as they bolted from their seats heading towards their first class of the day, and the only one they shared.

* * *

><p><em>In <em>_breaking __news __today __The __New __York __Hunter __has __struck __again. __A __jogger __discovered __the __grisly __murder __scene __of __yet __another __victim __early __this __morning __as __he __was __passing Judson Memorial __Church __on __the __lower __east __side. __Police __officials __have __announced __that __the __killing __is __indeed __another __of __the __Hunter__'__s __attacks __and __not __the __feared __copy__cat __killings __that __police __profilers __and __psychiatrists __alike __have __predicted._

"_City officials, police and the state militia have been working around the clock to identify and capture this serial killer who has yet to fit any known profile. Tonight's killing will make the sixth victim of the Hunter since the first body was discovered less than six months ago. Tonight's victim was twenty-eight year old Doctor Zuan Jin Woo of Taiwan's Royal Medical Hospital. _

_ "Police however state that the Hunter's victims have had seemingly no similar traits to go on. Individuals ranging in age from eleven to ninety-eight from all ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations have been targeted. The police insist that they are working round the clock to find this killer, however, until the person or persons responsible are found they request that all civilians remain in their homes as much as possible, or travel in groups after dark."_

"_In other news, millionaire entrepreneur Anton Van Dross was taken into custody for running a child pornography ring. Details are sketchy but it appears that video documentation of him molesting young girls from a nearby school were discovered, along with the disturbing footage of him sodomizing his own adopted son. While the footage is too graphic to show on television, it will be used as evidence against Van Dross when his case goes to court sometime in September. Van Dross has been held without bail, and according to our correspondents within the courthouse, no bail hearing will be scheduled._

'_From the district Courthouse, this is Cathleen Mabel for Channel 3 News.'_

'_Thank you, Cathleen. Well, last night was not very nice to several members of the notorious gang, the Purple Dragons. An attempted bank robbery was thwarted by someone whose calling card bears a striking resemblance to the Nightwatcher; the vigilante who vanished after the destruction of Winters' Corp Tower late last year. It is uncertain if the violent vigilante is back, however the sight that greeted SWAT teams this morning have many begging to differ…"_

Leo stared at the TV in the Student Union in silence. Fear ran up his spine and all he could think about was Splinter. They had to get out of here; they had to get to the church! Raph and the others approached with dark expressions, they knew it was time to find Splinter as well.

"Ready?" Leo asked with reigned calm. He was in leader mode nothing could shake him now he couldn't let himself be weak.

"Let's book." Raph rumbled. The four turned as one away from the still droning TV, bolting out of the union and across the courtyard to the library. During their first day at the university they had overheard that the basement of the library led to the abandoned underground bomb shelter beneath the school that led to a sewer line across the way. They descended into the bowels of the university complex rapidly, each twist and turn bringing them back to familiar territory and a sense of safety they had not felt since becoming human.

Raph took the lead soon after they entered the sewers. With their lair having been discovered, they did not know what would await them, and Raphael was determined that if anybody was going to run into something nasty it was going to be him. The twisting paths they bounded through seemed dank and eerie in their human forms, they somehow felt more exposed without their shells upon their backs.

Despite the tense prickling along the alien hairs along the backs of their necks they pushed on, completely staggered when a side tunnel that looked promising led out almost directly into the passage that led to their hidden front door. Raph glanced at Leo once, asking permission to return to where their adventures had started. With a nod, permission given, they entered, stunned into complete shocked silence when the door opened, revealing their lair – just as they left it.

"Um, is this even possible?" Mikey asked once the door closed behind them. "Nothing has been touched!"

"Except," Don corrected him, "There were spider-bot pieces strewn everywhere, and now they're just gone. Who would attack _mutant turtles_ in a sewer and then cover their tracks? It's not as if we can call the police." The others just looked equally shocked at their quiet home.

"We have to do a full reconnaissance." Leo said calmly, the fiercely guarded façade he presented telling his brothers exactly how much this rattled him, "We need to scope out the lair, all of the emergency exits, and determine if there are any clues remaining about why Stockman attacked us." Leo looked to each of his brothers to see if they were all with him. He smiled grimly at their determined faces. It was time to get to work.

They split in two groups; Raph covered Donny, ensuring their brainy brother had someone to guard his back while the techno-turtle went through the old security reels from the five days that they had been gone. Leo and Mikey on the other hand went to look for clues. Don scanned the data stored on his computer files. His system was highly encrypted with a fail-safe backup virus to eradicate all available data such that no one could find anything about them should the pass attempts fail one too many times. It was so well designed that six hacking programs that he had downloaded couldn't even break into his system.

Raph, meanwhile, allowed his more suspicious nature to come into play and scoured every inch of the lair, starting with Master Splinter's room. Their father's quarters were the cleanliest, and the most organized. Splinter was a creature of constants, and his once constantly burning brazier seemed like a token of doom as it sat cold to the touch. The rest of the downstairs was completely intact as well. The remade Shellsub, the Battleshell, their five matching cycles, the Sewer Slider, the hover boards, their Nightwatcher Battle suits; everything was right where it was supposed to be, even diving into the underwater access way showed no signs of forceful entry. Finally Raph slipped through the maze of their lair to the bedrooms, starting with Leo's at the far end of the hall. Leo's room had been trashed. Raph held his rage clenched between his teeth, his molars grinding despite his best efforts to remain calm.

Raph, like all the turtle brothers, knew how to read the others by not only their actions but their messes as well; it was a little quirk they had developed. Raph had memorized every inch of his brothers' rooms, and their Master's. He always knew just by stepping into their rooms what kind of mood they were in and how best to piss them off just by how they maintained their quarters. Leo's was the easiest. He, of all of them, had the fewest possessions, all of his storage space going to books and scrolls. Raph knew immediately that they had trashed his bro's room to find something. He just didn't know what, especially as nothing seemed missing, at least nothing that Raph knew of.

The next room was Donnie's. Their resident egg-head only used his room about half the time, the rest of the time he spent in either his lab or the infirmary. Don's room was trashed as well. Miniature models of all of his inventions lay scattered across the room, text books and manuals strewn all over the floor, the once neat bed was ripped to shreds and the only teddy bear that Don had ever claimed as his own had been utterly destroyed. Raph nearly howled his rage. They had destroyed his little brother's only claim to childhood. This was gonna be a blow that Donny would take badly, he cherished that bear. It had been given to him on his second birthday, by Raph himself. Raph had been in one of his meanest stages that year he had growled and snarled that he wasn't getting anything for any of his brothers. In the end, he got no presents, his brothers too upset at him while he had given each of them their most beloved toy.

Raph stilled mid-step and raced back to Leo's room. The white, plush toy rabbit had been destroyed as well. The only toy Leo had kept and part of the reason he worshiped Usagi Yojimo, was scattered in little fluffs of white along the floor. Raph's steps suddenly became silent, no padding no thumping each step too quiet to hear. In the lab, Donny paused and cringed. His brother was pissed; he would stay here until Raph was finished. Then he would talk to the only turtle that could scare him.

Mikey's room was the worst, his usually disarrayed mess of a room was now covered in fine confetti of all the comic books, posters, and artwork his baby bro had collected and made over the years. Raph nearly saw red, he couldn't stand this. The only things they had ever called their own, the few possessions that they had scrapped together from dumpster raids, junkyard scavenging or collecting and selling tin cans, had been destroyed. Raph felt a sob hitch in his throat as he saw Mikey's favorite toy panda bear, the eyes the only parts he could recognize, the rest mixed with the confetti on the floor.

Raph silently stormed to his own room, there finding his few belongings broken or smashed, his weights embedded within the wall and his worn out over used, duct taped punching bag little more than a pile of sand. The deep sinister growl that left Raph's throat nearly made Donny wet himself. The younger brother had never heard such a terrifying noise before. Throwing caution to the wind Donny fled his lab and raced through their lair to find his brother. Raph stood just outside his room, his mouth set in a fierce snarl and part of his lip bit so harshly between clenched teeth that blood slowly trickled down his chin.

"They trashed our rooms Donny." Raph ground out. Don blinked and looked to his room, should he look? "They destroyed Tsuki, Kahi, and Rollo." Don gasped, his Kahi, his teddy bear, was gone. So were his brothers, Tsuki the white rabbit and Rollo the panda. Each was considered to be precious, and all were the best gifts ever given by Raph. Donny felt tears slowly trickle down his cheeks, the feeling of tears running over his human skin only further heightening the anger he felt at Stockman. Then he turned with silent rage and picked over his room. From what he could tell nothing was taken, nothing stolen. The illogical aspect of it made him want to scream, while the cruelty to them made him want to be like Raph, capable of destroying anything without remorse.

"Raph, the only person who has been in here has been Leatherhead. We need to get the others and pay him a visit." Donny growled. Raph nodded, the pair left their beloved and now trashed lair to find their brothers and the one creature who they thought they could call a friend. The trek down to the tunnels was silent and tense. Donny was seething over what had been done to them, but he was even more afraid of Raph right now. Raph's dark skin and glowing eyes made him seem far more terrifying than ever before. Donny forced himself not to gulp when Raph pinned him with a fierce stare.

"We're gonna stop him for good this time. I promise." Raph ground out and continued storming down the tunnels on unnaturally silent footsteps. Donny shuddered at the rage held in Raph's dark eyes. He guessed that the toys Raph had given to his brothers had been more important to him than they had realized. The pair was relieved to finally see Leo's pale skin. The other two turned and immediately went on the defensive when they saw Raph's fierce face and Donny's nervous yet angry one.

"Someone trashed our rooms and our rooms only. The rest of the lair was untouched. They wanted to make this personal." Donny spoke before Leo could. Seeing Leo's eyes harden as he looked at Raph then Donny, he was very glad that Leo's anger was directed at Stockman instead of Raph. "Tsuki, Kahi and Rollo have been destroyed, yet nothing was taken. The only person my security system recorded entering the lair was Leatherhead." The four turned as one to trek down to the lower level abandoned subway station that Leatherhead called home.

They ran from the area of their lair, taking the fastest route to Leatherhead's lair. As they rushed through tunneles and access points they sped up until they came to the runoff tunnel at Sixteenth and Stone. It gave them the willies this time. None could explain it, yet the dark tunnel seemed malevolent. The four increased their pace just a little, and hoped that they could get to the next turn without any mishaps. When the hair on the backs of their necks started prickling, they all knew that whatever stalked them would not let them leave the tunnel. The four glanced at each other and nodded, then faded into deeper shadows.

They clung to the walls, leaping on silent feet as they attempted to pass the one patch of inky darkness that radiated a malevolence that was nearly tangible. Raph saw something move towards Mikey's position. He didn't know what it was, but just the brief glimpse of blue skin and glowing yellow eyes made his blood run cold. Raph immediately leapt to follow, his head growing fuzzy and his vision seeming disjointed from the rest of him as he drew ever closer to whatever hunted his baby bro.

_Mikey's now human face stared with hollow eye sockets into the darkness, bits of his body missing and the sewer floor misted with a fine spray of red. The other turtles stared in shock over their youngest brother's still corpse. Raph choked on a sob. Why couldn't it have been him? The others were closer to each other than they were to him. They couldn't live without Donny's kind knowledge, or Leo's stern wisdom, or Mikey's playful laughter. They didn't need his harsh anger, why couldn't it have been him?_

Raph shook his head, startled by the tears that trickled down his cheeks, had it all been a hallucination? No, Raph knew that it was too real, it had been a vision. The shadow that was stalking Mikey - Raph growled in rage and attacked the shadow, kicking and tearing with fists and feet. He pulled his long sai from the straps across his back hidden beneath his clothes and stabbed the creature as many times as he could, his vision red, the image of his baby bro dead as a human to never run the tunnels as a turtle again, it tormented him. He had to destroy this monster that would take away his baby bro.

With an eerie multi tonal scream the shadow vanished, the tunnel returned to just a normal tunnel. Mikey stood transfixed in horror mere inches from Raph's sai. Raph gulped, the shadow had almost gotten his baby bro, had almost made him skewer Mikey with his blade. "What was that?" Donnie stammered.

"Raph, what happened?" Leo demanded.

"It - it - the thing, I - it" Raph clenched his teeth as tears poured down his face from the memory of the vision. The others gasped and stared, they couldn't remember the last time Raph had cried. "That freak was gonna kill Mikey!" Raph screamed. Mikey paled, Leo glared at the lone drop of blood that hung from Raph's sai. He now wished that the thing's corpse hung there instead.

"What did you see?" Mikey asked in a voice that said he clearly didn't want to hear, yet had to know.

"You - you were lying right there, your eyes were missing, part of your scalp, the tips of your fingers were missing and holes riddled your body where parts had been ripped out. Mikey I saw you dead. And there was no blood. The - that monster even took your blood." Raph's voice quavered as he tried not to lose it in front of his brothers, he had to be strong, because that was all he had. Leo was Splinter's favorite; he could lead, do any move, meditate for hours, come up with a plan in seconds and usually make it work. Donny was smart he had his technology, his computers, his science, and he could even patch up the worst of their wounds and find ways around any security system. Mikey was - well, Mikey, he could make any of them laugh on their worst days, come up with hare-brained schemes and pull through alive when the rest of them would still be stuck wondering what to do. He was an amazing cook, and if not for him Leo would have starved long ago. Raph looked at his own trembling hands, he was angry, he was rash, he endangered his family constantly, never got along with anyone and they would most probably do better if he had dropped off of the face of the earth long ago.

"See, I told you he was our secret weapon!" Mikey crowed, breaking into Raph's painful thoughts. "Dude, you did it again! We didn't even know we were in danger and you like totally scoped out the enemy and took him down! I didn't even know anyone was there. Man Raph you have the luck!" Mikey enthused as he hugged his brother from the side keeping clear of the twin trembling sai. Raph squirmed under the attention until he felt Leo's five fingered hand upon his shoulder and stilled.

The two oldest brothers locked eyes, Leo's scared and thankful eyes staring straight into Raph's self hating and recriminating ones. "Thank you." Leo said it so softly that Raph almost didn't hear it. It made him still for a moment, all three of his brothers were looking at him with a strange glint in their eyes, it took a while for Raph to place it, and it made him want to weep when he finally did. They were saying without words, that they loved him and that they were proud of him despite his many faults. Raph couldn't remember being on the receiving end of one of those stares for a very long time. It was usually his way of telling Leo that he really did care about him, but was just too stuck up to say so.

"The New York Hunter!" Donny gasped. Leo and Donny suddenly looked at each other and Leo gasped.

"You're right. That killer has been hunting the streets for the past six months, each victim being mutilated just like - like your vision showed you, Raph. His latest victim was found on the steps of the Judson Memorial church on the East side." Leo looked pale and greenish at his baby bro. They had just run into the New York Hunter. Raph felt his blood boil.

"We need to get Splintah back, regain our shells, and see if it was Stockman who trashed the lair or someone else. Once were through and our Fathah's safe, then we go after this huntah!" Raph growled, the others just nodded, even Leo.

"Come on turtles, the faster we reach Leatherhead, the faster we can go after Splinter." Leo commanded, goading his brothers to move along once more. They raced at a fast clip through the remaining tunnels reaching Leatherheads lair minutes later. They entered quietly, each slipping past infra red motion sensors and pressure sensitive plates along the floor.

Mikey had just begun to breathe a little easier when the terrifying snarl rang through the echoing lair. He turned and screamed, his signature girlish eek ringing through the lair. The snarling stopped mid-snarl and the looming figure stepped into the light.

"Michaelangelo?" Leatherhead asked incredulously, immediately ashamed of his actions.

"Dude, you totally have that whole intimidating persona down pact!" Mikey grinned, forgiving Leatherhead his actions immediately.

"We apologize for not knocking but we have an emergency at the lair." Leo broke in, his face and voice tense and hard. "We saw you on or surveillance records, and no one else, but parts of our lair have been trashed, and we need to know why."

"You speak of the destruction within your rooms." Leatherhead slipped back into the darkened corridor and down to his kitchen returning swiftly with a tea tray and guided his visitors to a small seating nook. He shook his head and looked them over again. If it were not for Mikey's scream they would have been attacked, and possibly killed by now. "I still am having trouble believing my eyes, though your knowledge of what has transpired at the lair has only proven that you are who you claim to be."

"We saw through the stored surveillance files that you entered our lair and left hours later. What were you doing?" Don asked softly, he still whished for proof that Leatherhead wasn't responsible in any manner for the state of their lair.

"What you saw was merely a hologram I set up in case any came back to search your lair. The initial holograms were deactivated by your mere presence; otherwise it would have appeared that the entire lair had been completely ransacked. It was a precautionary measure should any find your home. They would see that it looked abandoned and ruined. They would have had to continue their quest to find you elsewhere."

"So ya mean that all that junk, the shredded things, the stuff embedded in the walls, it was an illusion?" Raph asked bewildered. Leatherhead nodded calmly and continued.

"Just before you went missing I discovered a new computer language that allowed for massive storage potential within the smallest amount of allotted space. I had a disk with me along with the holographic displays I used in your lair when I went to visit you the morning of your disappearance. When no one was home and the lair was cold, I feared the worst had happened.

"I began to search all of our enemies' files with the help of Dr. Honeycutt. The only lead I had obtained was references to a mutagen Stockman has been working on. It takes a previously mutated creature and gives it a human appearance; however the files all stated that it was still in the research phase of development." Leatherhead looked to the others and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"There was another file that I dismissed! It stated that four young mature estuary turtles had been brought in for testing. I had at first believed that they had discovered an anti-mutagen however no reference to a rat was made. The file also listed that a man had been sent to Judson Memorial."

The brothers paled as Leatherhead's words only confirmed Casey's reports of Splinter being at the church. Unfortunately, Judson Memorial was the last location of the New York Hunter. The madman could have killed their father if he had indeed been sent there as a human. "Thank you Leatherhead, but we have to go." Leo stood and bowed before turning to the entrance and bolting, his brothers at his heels as they raced back to their lair. They knew where they had to go, and Judson was just far enough away that the sewer slider was necessary. Don quickly found out that teenaged humans have much smaller hands than turtles. It took him much more effort than usual to keep the slider under control. Twenty minutes later they were parked a few blocks away from the church, each now carrying their spare weapons strapped under their clothes so that they could travel above without alerting others of their secrets. Leo still felt naked without his blades choosing a brace of kodachi instead.

From a dark alley one block away from Judson Memorial Leo slowly slid the manhole cover off and peered hesitantly about the trash strewn, deserted alley. He carefully slid the cover aside, making no noise and clambered up the last few rungs of the ladder to the surface street. Leo signaled to his next brother, and then dove silently behind a dumpster. Donny followed then Mikey. The three had noticed Raph had become increasingly silent and withdrawn a sign that did not bode well, for all too soon their hot headed brother would lose his temper in a big way. Only now, they were not turtles that people would run from, but young humans who people would try to restrain and take away, even separate them forever from each other if it was ever discovered they had broken their agreement with Barkus. That was something none of them wanted.

Raph slipped out of the man hole and slid the cover back in place. Leaping up he bounced off a wall above the dumpster where his brothers hid and landed silently a mere few feet from the alley entrance. With a subtle signal, he waited until a group of kids passed then walked nonchalantly down the sidewalk towards the shelter. Moments later Leo, Mikey and Donny slipped from the alley, their similar features allowing them to go unnoticed together down the street to eventually catch up with Raph.

The four turned as one and walked boldly up the church steps, until something caught their eyes, stilling their breath and forcing them to pause. There before them, five steps up was a strange red misting stain across the steps. Raph froze and gagged looking wide eyed and pale beneath his dark skin. The others hovered around him until Mikey made the connection.

"Dude, that was almost me wasn't it?" Leo and Donny stared at Mikey in horror. That was what Raph had saved Mikey from? That was the fate their baby bro had nearly faced? Leo and Donny felt the rage building within them. Someone was going to pay for targeting their family.

"May I help you four?" A warm woman's voice asked kindly above them. From the church door, a middle aged woman stood garbed in a habit and smock. The four looked up at her, Leo stepping to the front.

"We are hoping that you can. A friend said that someone who looks like our missing father was spotted here." Leo looked up at the woman.

"Oh my, such a mature young man, and who are these fine young gentlemen with you?" Leo suppressed an internal smile. The woman thought that they were 'little kids'. It was going to be tough keeping Raph's temper in line.

"We're all brothas." Raph responded stiffly. "Miss, have ya seen an Asian man about four foot six wit grey hair?" Leo and Donny looked worriedly at Raph, he usually was a hot head, yet right now he almost sounded nice.

"Um, brothers, you say? Well, I have seen some diverse families, but yours is by far the most - colorful I have seen to date."

"You could say that again lady." Raph muttered beneath his breath sounding more like his usual self.

"As for the man in question, I would better be able to find him if I knew his name."

"Hamato Splinter" four voices responded as one. The woman blinked at the determination the four showed in their young eyes and nodded.

"Yes, I know of Mr. Hamato, however I do not think he is the same man you once knew. Please prepare your selves." The woman turned and escorted the four into the church. They walked in silence through the grand chapel, through the calming garden behind, to a rather run down ramshackle long barrack building that housed the homeless away from the church grounds proper. With silent steps the five entered the heavy-aired building, the stench of unwashed bodies and despair heavy in the hazy room. To one side a clearing had been made where an old man sat meditating.

"He refuses to move, and he has not eaten or drunk since he came here. He said that he was going to find his sons then he came in here and has not moved since."

"Come on guys, it's time we got our father." Leo nodded towards the small, kneeling figure before them. The woman stared wide eyed as the four boys sat in a half circle around their father and fell into the same meditation stance. Within moments the entire group was motionless.

"Sister Clarence, what is going on?" Brother Izekiel asked from the doorway.

"These boys have claimed to be Mr. Hamato's children, when I told them what has happened to the old man they just did _this_." she gestured helplessly from where she stood to the five frozen figures.

* * *

><p>"<em>Master Splinter!" Leo called into the white mist.<em>

"_Master!" Donny looked about and shook his head sadly as his search for his master seemed futile and now he could find none of his brothers, "Leo!"_

_Mikey grinned he had gained a lot of skills when fighting for the Ninja Tribunal, and if he had learned anything it was that with meditation and concentration he could do anything! The youngest turtle knelt in the mists and concentrated on his father, thought only of the beloved, whiskered, furry face that had always protected and watched over them since they were little. "Sensei?"_

_Raph felt only rage, they should have just been able to find their father! It was not too much to ask, was it? He just wanted his father back, that and to become turtles once again. He hated being human, hated having soft, delicate skin coated with that useless delicate peach fuzz humans claimed to be hair that only served to get irritated when putting on too tight of clothing. "Splinta!"_

"_My sons." the mist immediately cleared revealing their beloved sensei. The aged rat paced forward evenly with his walking stick in hand, his tail swaying with each step in the manner that always spoke of silent happiness. "I am glad you have found me my sons. Take this as a lesson in why we must clear our minds and hearts of anger, rage, and anxiety. With such emotions held within us we may become lost inside. Thank you, for you have rescued me once more." Splinter spoke with wry bemusement at his own predicament._

_The four looked at each other happily and ran to embrace their father. The joy of being reunited was short lived however, when Raph looked down at his green three fingered hand. "We need ta get back, we're all still human, and the Hunta is still loose." Splinter looked to Leo for an explanation, which was given succinctly. Splinter frowned. _

"_You are sure you are uninjured Michaelangelo?" Splinter asked of his youngest._

"_Hai, sensei, I'm fine! Raph here saved my bacon!" Mikey beamed at Raph who shifted uncomfortably at all the attention._

"_Thank you Raphael, you have once more shown the loyalty you harbor so greatly. Also you have learned of selflessness and compassion. You have grown stronger, my son." Splinter praised and looked to all his sons with kind loving eyes. "Now, we shall return."_

_The four nodded and bowed to their father._

Everyone in the shelter gathered about the serenely kneeling father and sons. The group had been in silent meditation for only a few minutes when, just moments ago, they had shone with an eerie bluish light. At first everyone had scrambled to get away from the blue light and the strange mirage of four turtles kneeling before a rat that had taken place momentarily of the five humans. Finally one of the boys stirred, the second palest of the group shifted and grimaced.

"Oh man my legs! They're asleep! Talk about ouch - were talking major pins and needles here dudes!" Mikey exclaimed loudly making the other three boys flinch at his loud tone.

"If you meditated more you would not have pins and needles." Leo groused to his younger brother and grimaced, hiding the fact that he too had terribly stiff legs.

"Ow! I agree with Mikey. My legs hurt too much from simple meditation." Donny spoke up breathlessly as he maneuvered numb legs out from under him to stretch before him and wake up.

"Oi, Leo, that wasn't normal, was it?" Raph looked to his eldest brother with a grimace.

"What the - " Donny trailed off as he attempted to move his legs and failed utterly., "How can that be? We - but - huh?" Donny looked from his nearly lifeless legs to his brother's faces.

"My sons such meditation takes great energy. You four are still young, though you have gained much training are still new to this type of deep meditation. It will take your young bodies little time to regain their strength." Splinter responded sagely and stood easily from his stiff pose. "Come, my sons, much time has passed and we have delayed too long."

The four immediately took to their feet, uncaring of pain or stiffness as they followed their father through the shelter on stiff and wobbly legs, ignoring the many staring faces. The many men and women who called the shelter their home glared sullenly at the intruders, mistrusting of those not of their ilk.

"What kind of foul demons are you?" A man asked warily, not believing his eyes that the younger men were just ordinary humans. The father was weird enough, but when people are desperate they do drastic things. Other men of the shelter who were just as mistrustful of the strangers in their mists closed ranks beside the grizzled man, forming a wall between their fellows and the intruders.

"You looked like a bunch of monsters, all kneeling together. You turned into somethin' unnatural. You freaks better get out of here, especially you, old man." A braver soul than the rest stepped forward, throwing a clump of fallen masonry at the older man's head.

"Father!" Raph stepped protectively in front of their father willing to take the assault rather than let it harm their Sensei as Leo leapt into the air, kicking the projectile into a distant corner.

"Leave him alone," Mikey glared at the many homeless faces, finding none of the good will he believed in so completely.

"We don't know what kind of evil you have brought in with you!" the first man growled, hardened, world weary eyes glaring at them venomously.

"Don't start notin' ya can't finish pal." Raph rumbled as he stepped menacingly towards the older human.

"_Damaro_!" Splinter hollered and glared at his sons. "It is not wise to offend those who feel that their cause is great without justification."

"But Master Splinter!" Leo demanded ready to point out that the crowd had slung the first insults.

"No 'buts' my son, we must face this with wisdom and compassion." Splinter turned to the crowd who now muttered darkly about Leo's calling their father 'Master'.

"Many of you have come to this sanctuary in your times of greatest need, as did I when my sons were nowhere to be found. I now humbly ask that you let us leave as we came. We will trouble you no more." Bright grey eyes looked over the crowd before them. He suppressed a shudder as he took in the many troubled faces; he found that for once being able to speak to humans as an equal was a rare and disturbing feeling.

"My sons are all I have in this world. They have seen more of this city than I have, so I stayed and reached out to them. Fortunately they found me, and were able to reunite our family. I know that there is great danger beyond these walls. I have seen much that has wrought great horror and pain upon this old heart. My sons are my world. I have lived these past fifteen years solely for them, as they have been my entire world since I adopted them when they were very young." Splinter looked over the crowd and to his sons who stood around and beside him with faces bearing a mix of mistrust for those around them and pride and love for their father. Splinter sighed.

"Come, my sons. It is past time we went home." Splinter sedately paced towards the door. The four boys following after with eyes trained on those who posed the greatest threat to their family.

The crowd milled for a moment debating what to do until curiosity won out and they followed the mixed family, only to find the courtyard abandoned, as if they had never existed.

The five rode in silence in the Sewer Slider as they traveled back to the lair. The brothers had one hour until they had to be back at the orphanage for their curfew. The pre-arranged meeting time with Leatherhead and Nobody was fast approaching as well. They would have just long enough for Donny to attempt to identify and take apart the hologram projectors the humanoid alligator had placed within their lair before they had to focus on their official reuniting with their father.

Once back the others immediately went about double checking the security perimeters. Mikey and Raph did a patrol, resetting the many perimeter sensors and replacing the few simple pieces that Donny had made to be easily swapped out. Raph handled the mechanics side while Mikey watched his back. The two also did a sweep to find any remaining pieces of the spider bots, yet the tunnels were suspiciously clean.

"I still think we should collapse this main tunnel and create a new entrance from a lower level." Raph groused as they returned to the lair. "That, or else abandon this one and find a new place. I mean it ain't as if we havn't had to do it before." Raph hated even thinking about a new home. This place was the best, they had only lived here a couple of years since the old lair was collapsed by Karai, but it was still home and the most spacious one they had ever known at that.

"Raph," Leo sighed tiredly, "For once you might have the right idea. Donny has been looking over the schematics of the tunnels that connect to our main ones and thinks he may have found a way to secure most of them against unwanted intruders without alerting the tunnel workers of our presence." Leo took Raph aside to show him some schematics. The two spoke for the entire time Leatherhead was showing Donny and Mikey his holographic projectors and how they worked. Donny was eating up the technology, while Mikey was just wondering if he could get his games in immersive 3-D now.

"Leatherhead," Donny looked up at the taller mutant, his eyes gleaming with the light of an idea, "would you be able to make holograms of us in these human forms? I think that having the ability to walk as a human may be necessary for a while even if we do find a way to revert back to being turtles. We still need to find a way to stop the Hunter. It nearly got Mikey, and it's hunting all over the city."

"I believe I can accomplish what you ask, Donatello. I may even be able to develop a smaller more portable hologram projector each of you can wear. It may take some time, but with Professor Honeycutt's assistance it should be possible." The alligator smiled down on his friend and inspiration, constantly awed at the level of intelligence in the home schooled former-mutant turtle.

"My sons," Splinter called from the main room. Everyone left their tasks and turned to their father while Leatherhead remained near the back, allowing Splinter this time with his sons. "Nobody has arrived." The group went into the TV area of their lair, greeting the black clad super hero warmly.

"The Turtle Titan said you needed my help, what do you need?" Nobody asked evenly, his harsh voice rumbling softly.

"Headmaster Barkus of Saint Margaret's Orphanage along with Counselor Russell was supposed to file a found child report today. They put it off at our request, as we said we could find Splinter in two days." Leo began, "But, we never officially did. They think we're still at school. Is there a way you could file reports of us as missing children, only dated for two days ago?" Leo asked quickly. They were running out of time. He stepped swiftly to his messenger bag he had left behind while they went to find Splinter, pulling out a thin accordion file. "April made these for us, its adoption papers and birth certificates."

Nobody took the file, pulling out the papers and scrutinizing them carefully. "I'll take care of it. You four continue your rouse." He turned to Splinter beckoning the diminutive older man, "Come with me. I'll make sure your report is filed and you can claim you've come to check on any results."

"Be careful my sons, the Hunter has gotten too close once. He may try again." Splinter cautioned before slipping quietly from the lair.

The brothers left immediately, turning right from their home and following a different path that led to the bus route they usually took from the campus. It was not until they reached the surface again some ten blocks later that they realized how much better life was as a turtle. With their shells covering them they had had no use for clothing except for as a disguise, and now they discovered why sewer workers were never happy – their clothes smelled foul.

"Dudes, this is so not cool!" Mikey grimaced, reaching up to hold his nose, only stopping when he realized the stench was emanating from his skin as well. "Eeew! Okay, being human now officially totally sucks! We didn't smell like this as turtles – did we?" He shared a horrified glance with his brothers, the thought of reeking this badly on a daily basis making them all a little squeamish.

"I doubt it." Raph groused. "We're ninja, and ninja don't stink. If we had the Foot would have found us each an' every time, but we sneak right under their noses regularly."

"Come on, this way!" Don beckoned, suddenly brightening. He led the others towards a small second hand clothing store. "We can get some different clothes at least." The others nodded in silent agreement and entered the store, immediately heading to the men's racks. The bus usually took forty minutes to get to the orphanage from campus. They had very little time.

"Just grab something guys, we don't have time." Leo warned. They all grabbed clothes that looked their sizes, heading to the cash register and paying swiftly.

"Dude, the next time I say collecting cans is stupid, hit me." Mikey shifted uncomfortably at the back of the bus, the dimmed stench of the sewer lessened with the different clothes. None of the brothers spoke of the embarrassment of having to change completely in the too small curtained off dressing rooms in the dingy store. Their most recent escapades had only added to their distaste of being human.

They were only too glad to finally disembark from the bus a block from the orphanage. Now that they were finally free of the baleful glares of the other passengers who did not appreciate their ode' de sewer they felt less pinned down by the unwelcomed scrutiny. The walk back to the orphanage was silent. They had too much on their minds, they had their father back, they had their home, and yet they could not return. For now, they had to be the good little human kids.

"I never thought that being topside as one of them would hurt so much." Don looked dejectedly at his feet. "We have to hide just as much now then we did before."

"No Don, yer wrong there. We have ta hide more up here. Down there, we're free. We only have ta hide our faces. Up here, as we are, we gotta hide ever'thing. I ain't allowed ta blow off steam wheneva I get pissed. Mikey can't be hyper. Ya can't work on yer experiments or nutin; an' Leo can't train. We ain't ourselves up here. We're shadows of who we're supposed ta be." Raph rumbled, his ever growing agitation showing in his voice, the others suddenly realizing how calm Raph had been over the past few days.

They were all hiding their stress as best as they could, but it was hard to not be a turtle. Gone were the shells that protected them, along with the thicker skin and denser bodies. Human bodies were too narrow, they had no bulk and they were so fragile. However, each one of them knew that if they had been born human, then changed they would have hated the very things they lost. It was almost amusing. To become a turtle would more than likely be any human's worst nightmare.

The steps leading up to the orphanage loomed before them, the slowly sinking sun casting the lower levels of the city into an early twilight while the sky still shone its brilliant blue overhead. They paused halfway up the steps, as one looking back over their city. Three days ago they had loved their city. Three nights ago they had been grateful for everything they had despite all the battles life had thrown at them. They were turtles and they loved being what they were. Now though, they felt jaded.

Dreams of being human had tantalized them from their earliest memories. While human kids had been able to play in the sun, they had slunk underground in eternal darkness. Yet, for now, they had to hide from the darkness that had defined their lives, and live in the very sun they had longed for. Humans, for the greater majority, were hollow creatures. They filled their lives with empty diversions, never truly knowing what they lived for, or what they died for.

"Let's get this over with." Leo looked at his brothers with resigned eyes. It was time to play the fools again. None of them wanted to return to the orphanage, none of them were ready to let go of their former lives so easily. Finally, they turned, ascending the last few stairs in silent despair.

The orphanage was abuzz with rumors and chatter. Everyone knew that Van Dross had been busted; the strange documents found in Barkus' office that morning had been a godsend for the many girls and few boys who lived in constant fear of discovery. They now knew, it was not their faults. They were victims, and they were coming forward to the police in droves. Kids as young as ten from all over the city were telling the same story, each with their own psychological scars.

Barkus sighed. The long battle for the mental stability of his charges had finally been addressed. For too long the children he protected had shown symptoms of abuse, yet no source could be found. They finally had the culprit and he was ashamed to say that he had signed Jarrod Staten Van Dross over to the creep willingly. Anton projected himself as such a wonderful being. 'The most terrible monsters in the world are those in human guise.'

He mulled the thought over darkly, mentally berating himself for not looking deeper in to the man's files. It was a moot point though. Jarrod was dead, finally free of the silent coma. He just hoped Van Dross never saw the light of day again. Ever since Officer Bearing had reported that his four newest charges, the Hamato brothers, had been approached in an inappropriate manner by the slime ball Barkus had fretted over the boys. He scanned the hall, eyes lighting upon the very boys who were occupying his thoughts.

"Boys, come here." Barkus said as he approached the quartet, feeling his nose wrinkle at the stench that wafted from them. "What happened to you?" He demanded looking sternly over their obviously second hand clothes.

"The sewer line broke over at Thirty-ninth and Main. Unfortunately, that was where we went to inquire if our father had been seen by the staff of the soup kitchen behind Saint Mary's cathedral." Leo replied, lying smoothly to the head master.

"Well, go get cleaned up, but I expect you four to be in my office immediately after."

The boys turned as one, trudging down the hall to the communal showers. After a quick shower and yet another set of clean clothes they returned to Barkus' office. The headmaster sat with a file folder sitting on his desk, his hand resting on the bulging item.

"Please sit, I need to know, what happened with Van Dross yesterday, and _why_ didn't you say anything?"

Mikey looked up at Barkus aith solemn eyes, being serious for the fist time with the man, "There was a girl with us, one of Van Drose's protégés, she asked us not to talk. Van Dross was holding something over her, and with how he could charm everyone we figured no one'd believe us anyways."

Barkus sighed and shook his lowered head slowly, "You're probably right. Van Drose has helped this orphanage a lot over the years. Donations, birthday parties, holidays, Quincineras and Bah Mitsvas, he has given so much. Its just too bad he did it to keep us clueless. Now, I filed your reports with the police this morning for having found you four. They said it may take some time to locate one man in this city, so don't get your hopes up for a quick turnaround." Barkus looked the boys over with scrutiny as they shifted uncomfortably and nodded

"Also, in light of what happened with Jarrod and Anton, I'm taking extra precaution with all of my remaining charges, that includes you. I will not release any of you to anyone unitl I can do a full check on them. Do I make myself clear?"

Raph rumbled, but remembering the image of Jarrod from his memorial picture and the still tingling in his arms from where he had held the other boy the night before forced him to acede the man's point. Leo and Don shared uncomfortable glances, they had only covered their adoption papers with Nobody, they hadn't even thought of creating a personal file for Spliter.

"I had hoped, that I could have gotten started on that last point while you were away, however when I requested information on your father, Splinter Hamato, there was no such person. Now, I need the truth: Who is your father?"

Mikey stared at Barkus, lips twitching at the corners. Don held the bridge of his nose, mentally counting backwards hoping his little brother would not do what his mischievous eyes were threatening. Leo and Raph shared a horrified glance, both opening their mouths to warn Mikey to keep quiet, only they spoke too late.

"Luke, I am your father." Mikey rasped, his eyes glittering as he readied himself to launch into a full re-enactment of Star Wars.

"Mikey, what did we talk about?" Don asked patiently.

"But!" Mikey protested, going into full baby brother mode.

"Don't. Just – don't Mikey. I know – but for once, listen to me. No games, not now." Leo warned. After Raph's words earlier about not being themselves Mikey had apparently taken it into his head to act 'normal' in his own annoying fashion.

"Aww, but I had it down perfectly!" Mikey whined with a dramatic pout. While Barkus just watched them, trying desperately not to laugh at the four who were finally – _finally _– acting their age.

"Bro," Raph wrapped his arm around Mikey's neck. "Ya promised ta wipe the floor wid' me in Mortal Kombat. Behave, an' I might go easy on ya."

"Deal." Mikey beamed, immediately happy to sit back and watch Barkus squirm.

"Our father is Hamato Splinter." Leo responded to Barkus' question, apparently throwing the man off with his sudden response after Mikey's intervention. "If he has a Japanese name we do not know it. He has always been Father, Master Splinter or Sensei to us. He's taught us everything we know."

"Very well," Barkus rumbled, "What does he do for a living? Where does he work? How does he provide for you? Does he have medical insurance? What about _his_ friends? Does he hang out with anyone?" Bakus asked firing off his questions without leaving room for the boys to respond. From the shell shocked expressions, it also appeared that they had no answers.

"What are ya getting' at?" Raph demanded defenses up and hackles rising as he stared down the headmaster.

"Raphael, I know very little about any of you, nothing about your father and I am increasingly being forced to address the option that in reality you four are orphans. At this point I am assuming you have been living off of the streets until recently and now, finally tired of being homeless you invented the whole 'father' story to get yourselves taken care of." Barkus replied evenly with worried eyes.

"Dude, that is so flawed. We're fifteen and in college. Don's in a Doctorate's program. How could homeless kids teach themselves that? Besides, when someone's lived on the streets long enough you can tell. " Mikey challenged bewilderedly, wondering where this guy had gotten such a crack-pot story.

"Would having a description help?" Don asked calmly. At the man's nod he elaborated. "Father is four-six weighs approximately ninety-eight pounds, has short graying brown hair and grey eyes with flecks of brown. He has a long silver mustache and beard which reaches his waist and is usually bound with a small gold clip just at his throat. He walks with a wooden walking stick carved with a figure of an eastern dragon wrapping around it and usually wears the traditional clothing of Japan as his father taught him.

"He enjoys watching soap operas, especially Days of Our Lives. He has green tea and rice for breakfast, usually fresh vegetables and noodles for lunch, and whenever we can get him to go for it, the occasional pizza, although he hates pepperoni and is the only one who likes anchovies."

Barkus gaped. He had not expected the boys to actually have such a well defined image of what they wanted their father to be. "That is impressive, do you have a photo?"

"Oh yeah, let me just grab it – wait I almost forgot, we got dropped here in _our underwear_!" Raph barked eyes flashing. Arms crossed angrily across his chest, he glared at Barkus for being an idiot.

"I need more to go on. How about an address? A phone number? Anyone we can contact who has legal permission to represent your father?" Barkus opened his mouth to continue his questions when his phone rang. With a glare he shooed the brothers out of his office, "We will continue this later."

Scowling and angry the brothers left, heading to their chores and the south study room afterwards. It was going to be a long night filled with the homework and waiting. They only had to hold out until the files could be connected. They just had to wait.

"This is Barkus." The headmaster spoke after the brothers had left his office and listened carefully to the gravelly voiced man on the line who introduced himself as a police officer.

"I have a report filed by a Mister Kifu 'Splinter' Hamato and a copy of the reports you filed for a Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michaelangelo Hamato. The descriptions of the boys are identical. Would you be able to bring the boys down to the station tomorrow?"

Barkus frowned, somehow this screamed set up, but he just could not figure out how this could be possible. "Unfortunately no, we have state mandated protocol which forces us to wait a full week before we can act when this affects the charges within our facility. My hands are tied until then before they can be brought to potential relatives. I am sorry, but the earliest I could arrange it would be next Saturday."

The voice on the line paused, and keys clacked on a keyboard, "Very well, I apologize for interrupting, be at the station at eight."

"Yes, we will be there." He listened to the officer and jotted down the location of the appointment, immediately thankful that he had a full week to investigate this 'Kifu' before their appointment. By eight next Saturday he would finally know if he faced placing the boys with better families that would actually care for them.

Barkus hung up the phone, looking back up to the closed door with resigned eyes. Now it was time to do his research, he hoped this Kifu Hamato had a rap sheet a mile long. The boys had seen things that kids should never have seen, and this _father_ of theirs' must know something. For all of them it was a long week filled with frustration and silence.

* * *

><p>Their scherade had gone on for a solid week, ROTC at five-thirty for Raph, a solid two hour study session for his brothers. Classes from seven until three, lunch at eleven-thirty. It was a structured life they never wanted, and yet, they had no other options. Extra course work and prowling the streets before dark filled their only free hours as they searched for leads on Stockman and Bishop.<p>

Here, again the brothers discovered that being human had its disadvantages. While they were still as stealthy and swift as they had been as turtles, they lacked the mass and strange features that made them intimidating. Raph was immune from that, but it only made strangers treat him more as a thug.

As the next Saturday loomed ever closer Barkus grew increasingly nervous. Kifu was clean. He had tax exhemption, no drivers' lisence but held an annual transit pass. His New York identification card was up to date, he had no loans, no citations, and was a well respected member of his community. He aided the homeless, assisted troubled youths, and was an investor in the well respected O'neil Cargo and Freight enterprise run by none other than Miss April O'Neil. The files on Kifu 'Splinter' did little to ease Barkus' worry, it felt too much like Anton's file, filled with glowing reviews but used only to masquerade nefarious intentions.

Friday night came again, and Barkus was forced to summon the brothers to his office once more. As they entered, he could only watch the boys with resigned eyes, "It looks like you four got a reprieve. Someone claiming to be your father has approached the police, and has filed a report. We have an appointment at eight tomorrow morning with an Officer Nanashi to ensure that he is your father."

"They – they found him!" Leo sat forward excitedly, anxious to be freed of the orphanage.

"Hold on." Hands raised to forstall further outbursts, the man continued, "This will be just an interview. As I said earlier, you four will not go _anywhere_ until I am confident that this Kifu is a good father to you and that you are in a good home environment. Don't go packing anytime soon. Now, get out of here, go rest. We leave at seven-thirty sharp." Barkus shooed them out before they could protest.

The boys filed out of the office, each praying that this would work as they all returned to the dorm to collect books and notes before returning to the study hall, Mikey and Raph signing up for the antique arcade to see who could beat the other this week.

* * *

><p>"Master Splinter, you cannot return to the sewers just yet. Since your sons have come into the orphanage they will be monitored by protective services. You need a real home, and paperwork documenting who you are and that you actually do have a place to live." Nobody explained to the aged man, still uncertain how to deal with having the four best infiltrators he knew suddenly being human children.<p>

"I understand, Nobody-san, I will not take up more of your time. I will speak with April-san and Casey-san. They may have an idea of what I should do." Splinter rose and bowed to the uniform clad hero, preparing to leave when a large figure blocked the doorway.

"Sentry, what are you doing?" Nobody asked gruffly of the suit clad figure.

"Same thing you are, helping the Turtle Titan. Nano heard about the Turtles' plight and wanted to help. They are the reason he's safe with us and not throwing temper tantrums in the junkyards." Silver Sentry replied as he shut and latched the door behind him.

"I do not wish to trouble you, or Nano-san. You all have much to do." Splinter replied, hoping to not offend the super hero he had only met once or twice before.

"As the Titan would say, dude, chill," Sentry smiled warmly. "Nano has come up with a scheme that will let you live a double life unquestioned and get your boys back sooner. You are a government special agent."

"You flew into a building again, didn't you?" Nobody dead panned, refusing to listen to the nonsense spouting from his colleague's mouth.

"Ha! No, doing that once was lesson enough." Sentry laughed, "Actually, according to the FBI any individual with exceptional information on the Triceriton Invasion has been automatically been brought in for questioning and debriefing. The turtles were in the thick of the Invasion and probably know more about them than any other creature on Earth. Therefore they would be given level three clearances and Master Splinter as their guardian would warrant a level two clearance."

"Sentry-san, how does my sons knowing of the Invasion warrant us such status?" Splinter asked of the dark skinned man.

"Easy, your boys have seen the Triceratons in action along with their technology. Such information is priceless. So you have your alibi, you live off of a government paycheck, your boys are completely taken care of and the government will fully reimburse the orphanage as well as take on the rest of your sons' tuition costs should they wish to continue with their studies." Sentry rested a file upon the table before Splinter, allowing him to look over the file in silence.

"This is just a cover up?" Splinter asked quietly, his eyes shimmering with a resigned light for having to live as much of a lie as humans as they had lived in darkness as mutants.

"No, this is a fully sanctioned privilege approval through the Justice Force. We have been given authority through the FBI to dispense this stipend upon any who meet certain criteria when their assistance is needed. And, your family surpasses each and every stipulation they could throw at us to ensure we never used it. The best part though, is that with a full council approval, the FBI signs the checks and looks the other way, no questions asked.

"You and your sons will be set for as long as you need to be human." Sentry smiled warmly; glad to finally be able to do something for his friends who had literally led an army of superheroes to save them all from the end of the world.

"Thank you, Sentry-san, I believe this will aid us greatly in finding a temporary home." Splinter replied.

"About that," Nobody broke in, "There is a place, right above your lair actually that has recently been vacated. It's a dual shop space. On the front it is a small dojo and the back has a garage with living space above for rentals." He dropped a set of keys on the table on the manila folder.

Both disguised heroes beckoned Splinter to follow them, taking him to the property they spoke of and called upon the rest of the Justice Force to help recreate the lair in the two structures above. The turtles' rooms were remade in the top story of the dojo, each redone has it had been originally. The super TV set was replaced with a wall sized plasma screen entertainment system. All of their remaining gear stayed below in their real lair which would allow the brothers to 'move out' of their father's house if they needed to while staying in the lair.

A hidden door was installed that led to the lair, while the garage was filled with all the tools needed for basic vehicle maintenance along with a couple of fixer-uppers for Don and Raph to work on and sell if they chose. Anything with alien technology or hover capacity was left safely underground, along with most of their posessons. It made the living spaces above the dojo Spartan and spacious, very refined while reflecting each brother's personality. The work took a lot of time and some doing, but it finally got finished on Thursday night, giving Splinter a chance to familiarize himself with his new home. Exhausted at the end of the day and anxious to get to his remade room on the ground floor of the dojo, Splinter bid his many friends goodnight and locked the doors of the house, suddenly finding himself feeling claustrophobic in the small structure knowing his sons were nowhere around.

* * *

><p>With the early pre-dawn glow came Captian Epps to pick Raphael up the next moring. Despite it being Saturday ROTC was still in session. Raph, though bleary eyed and groggy was still excited, nerves jangling in anticipation of the upcoming training.<p>

"Hamato, you like this, don't you?" Epps asked as he kept his eyes on the road before him, mentally cursing the traffic.

"Yeah," Raph shrugged slightly, "I mean my bros have always been more – brainy. I guess. Don's a genius, he's younga then me and in a doctorate's program. Leo's analytical, he can break any situation apart and determine what ta do. Mikey is- well, Mikey. He creates the most fantastic things out of absolutely nothing."

"What about you?" Epps glanced at Raph, hoping for something this kid thought well of himself.

"Dunno. I'm – Leo and I haven't always gotten along too well. I'm a hot head, rash, angry, selfish. Though sometimes I'd just like ta prove him wrong, just once." Raph sighed whistfully, not realizing he had poured out so much of himself to this stranger.

"Is that what all your brother's say?"

"Don – well, I've given him a hard time recently. Leo was sent off ta South America for a while, martial arts training. And, Don was left 'in charge' by Sensei. I think for those two years we hated each other. Though, a couple a times he's called me brave, and stupid and reckless. But, it was worth it, to see yer little bro's eyes light up like that. Man, it's the best feelin' in the world.

"What about Mikey? You two seem close."

"Dunno, kinda. Guess Mikey an' I share a fixation on speed. He loves his board an' I enjoy my blades. Get us together and things get interestin'."

Epps laughed, "Don't take them too seriously, kid. Family makes us stronger." He leaned over slightly, "I learned that one from my wife and two little girls."

"Yeah, together, when we ain't got our egos in the way we can get a lot done."

They pulled up to the university staff parking, both slipping silently from the van. "Raphael, you enjoy ROTC." It was a statement, but Raph answered anyway.

"It ain't the training, sir. Masta Splinta put us through more rigorus exercises since we could walk. Part of being raised by a martial arts master. But it's the maneuvers, following someone else's orders that, even fer just a small amount of time, are immutable. That I can't just ignore. It feels – kinda like I'm finally getting my head screwed on right."

"Good, Attention!" the parade ground bellow pulled the morning session of the ROTC into order and as one the small unit fell in and began their morning calisthetics.

* * *

><p>Barkus met the Hamato brothers outside at seven-fifteen. Raph, still damp from his shower and seemingly calmer from the ROTC training that had pulled him from his bed two hours earlier, led his brothers from the orphanage with Leo at his elbow and Don trailing at the back. The difference the most hostile of the four displayed with the military-style training was immediately noticeable showing a calm side to the angry youth that made him appear the twin to Leo. Barkus was impressed with the transition and hoped it would continue. Seeing what the ROTC could do for one of the older boys held great potential for his younger children to see what such a program could do for them.<p>

"Into the van, and lets go." Barkus gestured to the dilapidated vehicle and climbed into the driver's seat.

The boys climbed into the back, each anxious to get their charade over with and finally be free to hunt down Bishop. Free to return the favor the maniacal genius, Stockman, had done to them in giving them human appearances. The brothers would ensure neither mad man would ever be able to touch them again.

The van pulled slowly out into the early morning traffic and traveled slowly to the nearby station the usual New York traffic keeping their pace at a crawl. The ride was silent, Barkus tense and uneasy. He refused to believe that the boys had been dropped onto their doorstep out of the blue and that their father miraculously reappeared, finding them the moment he filed the found child reports. He did not believe in coincidences and this screamed of a plot.

The modern cement and glass structure of the police precinct hunkered low in its dingy corner of town, all around it much taller buildings loomed casting the station into eternal shadows filled with the sense of unease and suspicion. The five piled out of the van, Mikey bounding ahead taking the small flight of stairs three at a time while the others trailed behind. Barkus could see each boy's anticipation and excitement at possibly being reunited with their father. It nearly broke his heart knowing that these boys would only see plenty of grief in the days to come.

"May I help you?" A bored looking middle aged black woman sat behind the registration desk, looking Barkus and his charges over with jaded eyes.

"I hope you can, I am Anton Barkus, Headmaster of Saint Margaret's Orphanage. I have an appointment to speak with Officer Nanashi." Barkus looked around the precinct carefully, keeping a weather eye on the thugs and criminals passing back and forth in handcuffs, making sure none of them got too close to his charges.

"He's waiting, third floor room 316, can't miss it." The woman pointed up towards the ceiling, her shoulders stiff with the dislike of her morning visitors.

Leo nodded his thanks, leading his brothers and Barkus through the throngs of criminals to the elevator. The brothers comfortably striding through the masses, seemingly unconcerned at being so close to so many of the criminal element. As they passed through the precinct Barkus became more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. These boys should not be so at ease in this mad house. Hookers, druggies, thugs and people so lost and full of despair or hate that their pain was tangible filled the narrow halls and cramped half-sided cubicles.

The elevator ride was short, all within silent with their own thoughts, allowing each to focus on what was coming. The brothers could only think of their father, and finally seeing him once more. The elevator dinged as the doors opened revealing a brightly lit corridor with dingy white walls and aged wooden doors spaded evenly along the hall.

"This way," Don led the way out, following the door numbers to room 316. Raph stepped around Don as they continued down the hall, knocking on the door gruffly and waiting only momentarily for the voice from within to bellow for them to enter before slamming his way into the room.

"My sons" A tiny older man of Asian descent stood from the chair he had been sitting in, and stepped forward. "I have been very worried these past days for you."

"Sensei," Raph breathed, eyes glistening with the joy of seeing his father that he did not show on his face. Behind him Mikey bounced around him, and hugged their father, the others following immediately. Leo, Don and Raph engulfed baby brother and father in one large group hug, Splinter's face barely visible between his much larger sons' shoulders glowed with joy.

"Kids," Splinter smiled hugely as he hugged his boys tighter, all too glad to be squished between his children.

"I apologize, but I must insist on an explanation for all of this." Barkus rumbled suspiciously not liking what he was seeing, despite his gut instinct telling him that the small family's joy was in no way a sham.

"Headmaster Barkus, formerly of the Army Rangers, retired Colonel – served in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Six tours of duty and discharged with honors after being wounded in Desert Storm and a recipient of the Purple Heart." A clinical voice sounded from behind the group as the door shut with a soft snick of the lock.

Barkus spun looking upon a black man in a black suit with equally dark glasses. The man stood just behind the group, leaning against the door. Barkus suppressed a shiver, the suit gave him the shivers, he was from the government. Barkus had dealt with these types before while still serving, and he knew he had just been trumped.

"I am Agent Silver. Your presence and assistance during the last few days with this – incident has aided us and the Hamato family greatly. However, you must understand that events beyond your control or understanding have been unfolding. Your orphanage will be reimbursed for services rendered to the Hamatos. Your head councilor, doctor and you as well shall also be compensated for your efforts regarding the care of these boys.

"Your involvement with the Hamatos will be negligible from here on, if at all. Please step outside I will be with you shortly." The agent shifted his focus from Barkus to the officer sitting behind the large desk at the back of the room.

Barkus followed his gaze and froze, the officer sat in darkness as no more than a shadow. Only the small family stood in the dim light of the room, now standing separately although Michaelangelo kept closest to the small man and Don looked close to tears of joy.

"I refuse. Although these boys have been in my care for only a short time I'll be damned if I allow them to go back to a home where they don't even know their own father's name! Their backs are scarred and no extreme sports no matter how dangerous create scars identical to knife wounds. Now, I demand an answer or I will have child services down here faster than you can say FBI." Barkus snarled staring both the officer and Agent Silver down.

"Headmaster Barkus, if you will indulge me a few moments of your time. I believe you deserve an explanation." Splinter said gently. "Only I must beg you to listen to our tale entirely before making any judgments, and to please never speak of this beyond these doors." Barkus nodded and Splinter knelt down on the floor, his sons flanking him on their knees leaving the spare chair to the head master and making the former soldier extremely uncomfortable.

"Several years back the Triceriton Empire invaded the Earth. My sons had been one of the first to be captured and had direct contact with them. Donatello, my most curious student began to immediately attempt to understand their technology. In the course of their capture he learned much that few others had discovered about the invaders. Leonardo used what Donatello had discovered to get them free from the Triceraton's clutches and together my sons escaped after Michaelangelo and Raphael had sabotaged much of their captor's technology allowing a rebellion to occur within the ranks of the Empire.

"With their experiences my sons were intercepted by the Justice Force. When I arrived they had explained the events of their capture to the superheroes and they, on behalf of my sons and me filed for special status within the government. Due to my sons' many experiences they have been placed under my protective custody until their majority. It is my duty to stay with them and protect them from any harm that should come our way.

"Unfortuanately a rival anti-government agency has obtained information regarding our location and attacked us in the night. One of our allies transported my sons to your orphanage to keep them safe from the attack and to prevent our enemies from knowing their location.

"It is assumed that one day the Triceritons may return again. On that day all of my sons' combined experiences with them previously will prove invaluable in defending our world against further attacks." Splinter looked Barkus over, taking in the disbelieving expression and sighed.

"Sensei, why should we tell him anything? He's been tryin' ta prove us as bein' abused by ya. He was willin' ta even separate us, and don't pretend ya nevah said anything, I heard ya!" Raph barked standing up. The calm relaxed air the ROTC had imbued with him had already burned off and Barkus felt a shock run through him at how swiftly this boy had recovered.

"Raphael, _sabate_!" Splinter barked, face impassive despite the fire that shone from his eyes.

"Sorry, Sensei." Raph bowed to Splinter and returned to his former position.

Barkus watched in amazement, continually reminded of a military unit in the behaviors that the Hamatos displayed. "Merciful Mary mother of God, you're serious! You four were actually on the Triceraton ship?" Barkus looked from one brother to another.

"It was _ships_, plural. The sick fanatics had us across the universe ta their motha ship within hours." Raph growled.

"Barkus-san, you have taken care of my sons in their time of greatest need. Please, accept my gratitude and do not further involve yourself in matters that will only endanger your orphanage. Too many have been involved already." Splinter responded.

"So, an ally just happens to know your house is being broken into and instead of calling the cops he grabs four teenage boys and drop them on my doorstep and vanishes without telling you where they were placed. How stupid do you think I am?"Barkus demanded.

"I dropped them off." A woman's voice spoke up. From the darkness of the furthest corners stepped Amada Dome, one of the superheroes of the Justice Force. "The boys had to be moved before the rival group could get their hands on them and, I have been leading their operatives on a merry chase across the eastern seaboard with my machines to keep the brothers safe. If I had let Splinter-san know where his sons were he would have come to you, and they would have followed. Do you want rogue cybernetic monsters crawling through your orphanage, slaughtering your children and have the government cover the entire thing up as 'the former military head master losing himself to PTSD slaughters his entire orphanage and kills himself'?"

Barkus paled as the full impact of what these people were saying finally sunk in. "You mean, if any group wanting to know what these boys do had discovered where they were, they would have killed everyone in my orphanage just to get four boys?" He had heard of worse things during his time in the military, hell he heard of worse things in the morning news. But, those worse things did not involve his children or his home.

The group he faced nodded silently each showing in the hard lights behind their eyes exactly how much danger his charges had been in, how much danger the entire group faced on a daily basis. "I understand, nothing we have spoken of will ever be repeated, you four were reunited with you father and went home. End of story. No questions asked, it was just one of those rare happy endings that never seem to happen anymore." Barkus stated simply and rose from the hard chair. "Good luck boys, take care of your father."

"We will, and thank you." Leo replied as he rose and the entire family bowed, arms stiff at their sides as one. The sight stirred a long dead cinder of emotion deep in his soul, for the first time since before he left the military, he felt the smallest stirrings of hope. This was one happy ending, maybe soon there could be more.

* * *

><p>AN: The mention of finger tips and portions of the scalp refer to 'spirals', places within the human body that hold magical properties. Check out 'Navajo Blue' which is the movie the idea came from. Other missing body parts came from City Hunter and other anime.

Also, I have absolutely no idea on how police proceeding work. Anything to do with missing children and police work is total crack.


	4. Reclamation, Part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly enough. All rights belong to Mirage Studios, Nichelodeon and all respective owners.

Crossover: Fake, Gargoyles

* * *

><p>Reclamation Part 1<p>

Splinter sat in his favorite recliner in the living room listening to the now familiar sound of his sons studying at the kitchen table. Pages turned, pencils and pens scraped along paper and the constant clacking of fingers against a laptops keyboard filled the silence below the soft drone of the TV. Splinter spent more time in the living room than before. With his sons seemingly always studying or off away at the nearby Gayle Sykes University he had much time to himself. Time he used to follow the sad story of Anthony Von Drose and his late adopted son, Jarrod. The former head of the child pornography ring had been murdered after his arrest and further investigation had shown multiple ties to influential and dangerous people throughout the world.

The prosecutors believed that the case would be open for many years in finding all accomplices in the filming and distribution of the pornographic videos. Despite the optimism of the press, Splinter knew that this was just allowing others to get away. Once more he was grateful his sons had only been human for the past few months and not their whole lives.

It had been four months since they had been mutated further into humans. The time had flown by as his sons pushed their way through their classes during the day and hunting Bishop and Stockman at nights. The now human family was positive the scientists were behind their new appearances, though they were equally certain there had to be a third player. Neither Bishop nor Stockman was overly skilled in the realm of mutating serums as their attempts with the outbreak virus had proved.

Now, with his sons approaching their summer break they would have to move fast and announce any plans to friends should they need an alibi while they searched for the scientists and then the New York Hunter. Splinter silently berated himself for not attempting harder to find the vicious killer, but he knew that should he locate the murderer through his meditations, his sons would only rush more swiftly to stop him and the danger the strange creature represented.

With a sigh Splinter stood and moved slowly to the kitchen. While his sons did have homework and test preparation for the swiftly approaching finals, they were all amazingly intelligent and were currently working ahead of their classes, even Michaelangelo and Raphael. Splinter paused one last time before approaching the silent table his presence calling a halt to the evening's study session.

"My sons, for these past months we have lived as humans to keep our new lives from suspicion. Now, however we must discover the science that made us human and find a way to reverse it. We have never been of the upper world to pretend to be so much longer will only bring us further despair."

The previous months had been difficult as the four brothers continued to pretend to be above average intelligence teenage boys attending college and returning to their modified home in the evenings. After the events of being trapped in Saint Margaret's Orphanage and forced to act like normal humans attending school was simple enough. Unfortunately, with their father back and their lives once more approaching normal they all were noticing small slip ups where they would act more like turtles and less like the humans they were supposed to be. If they waited too much longer someone would begin to ask questions and that was the last thing they needed.

"Yeah, like totally!" Mikey whined, "I loved being a turtle, being a human just isn't as fun as it's cracked up to be." Mikey looked down despondenly at his paint stained hands, "We have to spend all day in classes, and constantly wearing clothing is making me feel chapped in places I didn't even know existed."

The others chuckled though even to their ears it sounded forced and strained. Don nodded silently. "There are so many things that can pull four brothers away from each other and their father. Besides, as my studies progress there will be more lab requirements and those can keep me busy for hours!"

"Besides, I miss my shell." Mikey lamented theatrically. The others just snickered at him, all remembering the long standing joke that Mikey painted the inside of his shell just so that it wouldn't feel left out while he was drawing when they were kids. There was no proof of this, but Mikey used to hide crayons inside the top edge of his shell when they were little, so it was a possibility.

"My sons, while I do urge you to discover this science I must also advise caution. Summer break is coming near and only after you are freed from these obligations posed by your learning may we proceed with any discoveries we may make." Splinter warned his sons gently, meeting their frustrated eyes with sympathy. All nodded, reluctantly agreeing with his urgings then turned to continue their brainstorming.

"Ok," Donny picked up the line of thought, "We know that Stockman was behind the spiders and the webbing they shot at us. However, Stockman has rarely been successful with mutagenic compounds. That has always been Bishop's realm of influence."

"But Bishop could never get truly effective mutagens; he could only influence small portions of the body with his chemicals. Bishop basically owns Stockman so where Stockman is so is Bishop. It would take some kind of genius to manufacture the kind of technology that created this second mutagen." Leo pointed out. The two stared into space for a moment trying to get their minds around the current dilemma.

"What about that Gen-U-Tech ovah on Fourth?" Raph spoke up, "Couple a years back there was a big stink 'bout some human testing and people goin' missin' around the homeless areas. There were latah rumors that people actually turned inta a bunch of freaky flyin' mutants. Could be a lead."

"And when were you going to give us this little tid-bit?" Leo demanded, "If we had known about this sooner we could have acted upon it earlier."

"I _did_ tell ya earlier, Fearless! You an Donny-boy here blew me off fer tellin tall tells an' listen to Casey too much! So hows it feel to find out that you turned yer back on yer brotha when he actually had somethin just caus' it 'wasn't logical', huh? You wanna rethink that positon Jungle boy?"

Donny and Leo looked blankly at each other for a moment before recognition dawned on them. They could not believe that something so unbelievable could actually be real, which should have alterted them to it being a possibility in the first place due to their many experiances.

"_Yo, Leo, Donny, there's a new rumor up top 'bout abductions amongst the homeless. People are sayin' that there's this secret research corp what's been finding ways of mutating humans into animals. A lot of people are gettin scared up there." Raph strode purposefully through the lair's entrance to the main room where Leo and Donny were listening to the news. Neither turtle had heard any reports of such disappearances and scoffed._

"_Raph, if people were disappearing the cops would have found out and there would be a search on. All people have rights, even the homeless and destitute. Someone would have reported them missing." Donny said in his normal I-know-more-about-this-than-you voice._

_Raph growled and turned on his brothers, "What do you know, huh? There're whole neighborhoods out there that the cops won't go near aftah dark and won't go in for anythin' less than a homicide. Don't you guys get it, there're people out there who no one gives a damn about and those homeless and destitute are the main ones. No one reports nothin bout them, and even if they do no one cares cause they are just human rats livin off the refuse of the rest of the city." Raph stormed up the stairs and into his room. From his still dark room the sounds of him raging as he pummeled his punching bag could be heard into the lower level._

_Leo and Donny glared at the closed door and shook their heads, "Hot head," they muttered in unison._

"He's right," Leo looked down and Donny nodded shamefacedly, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you then Raph, but I think that you may have something. We will check out this Gen-U-Tek place and see what we can find." The four went about making preparations to infiltrate the building that could hold the answer to their newest transformation. The sun set was in four hours. They would need all of their combined efforts to make it inside and out again without detection. The four immediately went to work. Splinter nodded in silent approval and headed to the kitchen, knowing the four would need to eat shortly before heading out.

The brothers had been steadily working and it was nearly time to go when Raph's slowly building temper finally broke. Their only warning was Raph glaring at the building schematics they were looking over then suddenly turning and roughly throwing his sai to stick quivering the door jam to Donny's lab with a fierce snarl.

"Yo, Raph, what's up?" Mikey asked worriedly.

"Yeah, Raph something has been eating at you for days. What's going on?" Donny asked.

"You wanna know whats eatin me? This! This is what's eatin me." Raph held up his hands backs out towards his brothers.

"I know Raph," Leo attempted to soothe his brother, "it's hard being human, but hopefully -"

"No Leo, ya don't know! You three look alike! You three have similar faces and da same skin! Do ya know how hard it's been wid everyone questioning me, judging me as to whether I'm really yer brothah? Do ya! They see ya three and they see three nice little white boys. Then they look at me and they see someone who shoulda come from da hood.

"Ya know, growin up, it didn't mattah that our fathah was different, he was our fathah, but us, we've all been the same. All looked the same. It's what made us so good when people couldn't tell us apart or know how many they faced. But - but now they see one tall black kid and three shorter white kids and they see three brothers and a thug. Maybe we wern't supposed ta be brodas anyway." Raph growled.

"Wow, I like totally know what you're talking about!" Mikey piped up, earning himself a bitter glare. "Seriously, I watched this movie once, Four Brothers, they were kinda like us, but really different, ya know. Well they were four foster kids that no one wanted so this really nice lady who helped foster kids find permanent homes adopted these four for her own. They grew up better than they would have, but they were still kinda thugs and criminals. Yeah, but ya see. The movie starts with their mom getting killed in a simple store heist, but it wasn't so simple and the brothers, forgot to mention their all like adults and one even has kids of his own, but yeah, you see, they come home and the brothers, aren't the same at all. Two are white, two are black, one's a musician, one is so single minded that he can't think of anything but getting the guys who got their mom. One is a marine, tough and smart and the fourth is a family man. The four shoot up Detroit trying to find the ones who killed their mom and why, but they were totally like us, and they said one thing that really makes sense now. 'It's not what your family is, but who's in it' or something like that. But all through the show the brothers kept getting these incredulous stares from people who didn't know them when they said that they were brothers. But they were.

"And Raph, we _are_ your brothers. So some freaky mutagen makes you black. Do you think we're gonna let you off easy and blow this joint? _I_ think not! We turtles have a long standing tradition of mocking you that has to be maintained!" Leo and Donny chuckled but Raph just growled and stormed out of the room, yanking his sai from the wood as he left.

"Whatevah." The brothers descended from their surface home into the lair below, donning the modified Nightwatcher suits Donny had redesigned to fit their human forms and strapping retrofitted belts and pouches over their suits. While being human was difficult for them they had adapted readily to their new forms. With Splinter back and free to be in their home they had resumed their daily training allowing them to recreate their fighting styles to better suit their more slender bodies.

Leo was grateful they had been able to resume their training. With a daily routine they had shared all their lives back in full swing Raph had calmed down and now controlled his anger better, redirecting it for use while they were on this night's mission. Leo smirked, these missions were the best part of life, despite their current forms, he loved being a turtle.

The night was dark around the south side industrial complex. The Gen-U-Tech Corporation looked deserted and none felt that that was a good thing. Leaping to the roof from another building the four immediately set about opening an access hatch that led through the ductwork to the building's interior. Donny kept his eyes out for telltale signs of security but found none. He still didn't breathe a sigh of relief yet. This felt almost too easy, and he just hoped Leo wouldn't say it. When Leo actually said that things were too easy, inevitably it would get a whole lot harder.

The four finally found the main research lab and dropped into the cavernous space. Donny felt his heart leap into his throat as he took in the darkened room, along the walls there were hastily patched up four-furrowed claw marks that went straight through the wall. The ceiling was patched up and they could see straight to the night sky above. This place really was deserted. It looked like a Triceraton had jumped through the roof and taken most of the wall out with its tail-spiked space suit.

"Man it's like a war zone in here!" Mikey exclaimed softly. The others only nodded silently and they went to work scouring the place for anything that would give them a lead.

"Yo, Donny!" Raph summoned his brother to a different lab. You evah seen this insignia before?" Raph held op a discarded lapel pin which bore the three segmented shape of a stylized scarab beetle. Donny took the pin and studied it before shrugging and slipping it into his bag of tricks.

"I can determine which corporation uses this as its logo when we get back to the lair, right now we need to find anything else that might give us clues." Donny said, clapping Raph lightly on the shoulder before the two parted ways. They continued to scour the facility until the group was summoned by Mikey further down the hall.

"Um guys, what has a tangle of wires, a really big screen and lots of buttons?" Mikey asked.

"A computer?" Donny asked hopefully.

"I think that's what this is, but I'm not sure." Mikey ushered the others in to stand before a large micromanipulator array, laser focusing device and a supercomputer.

"Whoa!" Donny breathed, his eyes lighting up like he had just received the best Christmas gift of a lifetime. "Guys, this is Xanatos Enterprises' top of the line super computer. This baby can practically think on its own, run advanced machinery and even respond to voice activation. This thing is the most advanced computer system out there!" Donny was nearly dancing in place at being able to play with something so advanced. He swiftly activated the machine and cracked the security codes. Inside he found more than what they were expecting. Files listed the names of five humans who had been abducted and mutated into 'Mutates' then let loose with the false assumption that an antidote existed and would be administered upon completion of certain tasks. The main computer hard drive held only those files and many programs and protocols for running the advanced array of technologically advanced machines within the laboratory. However, there was an access system, allowing direct communications with a network which held even more files that left the four speechless.

The first directory contained a file that spoke of a strange substance found in a sewer fifteen years ago that held strange mutenagenic properties. Recent technological advances allowed for an antiserum to be created that would reverse all mutations upon anything it touched and another that would transform a mutant into a human. Donny swiftly read up on all of the chemicals listed in the super computer and discovered a protocol that would activate a gene sequencing machine that would create the initial genetic tags that could be spliced onto a molecule of any of the mutagens and allow for it to be delivered directly into the body of a subject. Donny started up the machines and put in what he hoped was the command for synthesizing enough mutagen for all five of them.

Everyone was getting anxious as the time ticked by. Raph left for the roof to watch out for night security or early arriving employees or repair crews. Nearly three hours slowly ticked by until the mutagen was ready. By then Raph was more than hoping for a few skulls to crack. Donny gave the signal and all returned to the laboratory to find Don triumphantly holding up his vial of mutagen.

"That's supposed ta be enough for all of us?" Raph asked incredulously.

"Supposedly," Donny responded, his initial triumph immediately fading to thoughtful worriedly. "Those web fibers must have contained micro amounts of the mutagen, so in theory the chemical could have been separated to cover each of the strands from just this amount, but I still will not be comfortable until I have run some tests back at the lair." Leo sighed and looked over the machinery before them.

"Don, how long do you think this laboratory has been abandoned?" Their leader asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"My best guess would be a couple of years, at least. The amount of dust is a good sign and from the water damage allowed on the inside, I'd guess money was of no concern when they left, or they would have taken their equipment with them." Don replied, eyes still hungrily tracing every feature of the machines before them.

"Get the Battle Shell down here immediately, we'll load up everything. If they're not going to use the equipment, then we will." Leo replied hoping that Don had been correct about the serums, but if he wasn't then they would need the most advanced machinery available to them, and this was it.

The Tortugas Brothers moving van pulled up behind the building, and the brothers swiftly loaded all of the dismantled machines, refrigeration units, computer components and the surplus spare parts from a back storage closet. The four slipped back into the truck, once seated Raph drove them away while in the back Don pulled up the Gen-U-Tech building's security cameras, switching them from the looped feed recorded to cover their tracks from any would be observer's live view. From the camera he watched from, he missed in the darkness yet another camera on a special circuit that recorded the illuminated vehicle, displaying it in the bottom corner of a distant screen.

It was nearly dawn when the brothers returned and summoned LH and Professor Honeycutt to help move the acquired machinery into an unused corner of the Turtle's lair underneath the façade home they currently lived in. Manuvering the equipment and reconnecting the system took most of the night, however despite having to return to classes the next day Donny knew the work had a good chance of continuing swiftly with Honeycutt and Leatherhead being able to devote all their spare time to creating an anti-serum.

The final weeks of school passed swiftly and with the end of classes came the end of the brother's pretending to be human aside from Raphael's continued participation in summer ROTC. The continued training and drilling worked to mold Raph into a better fighter, a stronger brother and a more resilient second to stand at Leo's side. With his constant internal anger funneled into his exercises he was more focused, more willing to let the petty things that used to annoy him to violence slide easier. And, much to Mikey's dismay it made him a better gamer by showing him to better focus himself under duress.

With their freedom currently guaranteed the family moved from the above ground dojo and living space to the lair. Don resumed his work on the anti mutagen full force while each of his brothers became anxious and uncomfortable being very far from Don while he was so absorbed in his work. All too often in the past they had ignored the dangers of leaving Don on his own, and each time he had been caught unawares in an attack that the others should have protected him from.

Raph especially kept close. He refused to let his brothers out of his sight for very long once he had returned home from his morning training at the university campus, especially now that they were so close to returning to being turtles. If this worked they could go back to being their normal selves and be free to kick Purple Dragon and Foot butt when needed. The city had been fairly quiet, nothing going down that the police could not handle, but still he would be happy when he could resume his favorite past time of roof hopping.

"Well, guys, the results are in and it looks like this will really work." Don announced at the end of their first month of summer break as he approached the old kitchen table in the lair. "I have been able to isolate the mutagen within our bloodstreams and compare it with this anti-mutagen. The two are polar opposites and, when tested on samples I have taken from each of us, it seems to counter act and neutralize the secondary mutagen without affecting our initial mutation." Donny looked at his brothers expectantly.

"Uh translation?" Mikey asked.

"He means we won't be human anymore and we won't go back ta bein' little pet turtles neither, right Don?" Raph asked. The brainiac nodded and sighed, holding up a rather large syringe.

"Ok, who gets to be guinea pig?" Donny asked with an intensely worried frown. "This will hurt, and I don't think it will be pleasant."

"I'll do it." Raph spoke up. Leo looked like he was about to argue, but something in Raph's stern expression told him that it would only cause a fight, so he kept his mouth shut. This time only would he allow Raph to put himself in danger, normally Leo felt that was his position, his burden to bear. He would take the brunt of the pain so that his brothers would be saved the agony. He just hoped he would be able to live with his decision should the worst happen.

Donny swiftly swabbed Raph's skin and injected the antiserum into his arm. Everyone held their breaths and waited. It took five minutes for Raph to begin to sweat and shift uncomfortably, his body temperature rising to near unhealthy levels. Half an hour later he began to writhe and scream upon the floor hugging himself and whimpering senseless nothings. All too soon the others found out why. Raph's body began to shrink, the black pigmentation altering to his natural dark green. Raph had to lose nearly eleven inches of height, his spine needed to condense and generate the hard plates of his shell. The transformation was gruesome. Raph's skin tightened across his back slowly becoming translucent before stretching over the rapidly expanding shell that eventually split through the topmost layer of skin, shedding it in slimy hunks tainted black from his induced pigmentation. His fingers first grew excess skin that joined his first two and second two fingers together then they fused into single digits.

Donny was pacing and hugging himself, while Leo only stared in stunned horror at Raph's plight while he held Mikey to him and Splinter knelt, head bowed in solemn misery as he watched the plight of his son. Their youngest brother sobbed and shuddered at Raph's prolonged agony. The brothers each stared aghast and terrified at the changes being wrought before their eyes and the pain that was turning their toughest brother into a shuddering mass of cries and tears. It took a total of three hours before Raph finally stilled, naked save for his shell. He breathed heavily for several minutes before finally stirring.

"D - donny," he rasped. "Now I know why we was knocked out." Raph breathed before finally passing out. Donny just sobbed, hugging the still sticky and gooey Raph before turning to his lab to collect a strong sedative.

"Leo, Mikey, Master Splinter, take this now, I'll inject you with the anti-mutagen in three minutes and you will all be asleep before the transformations occur." Donny ordered in a strangled whisper.

"And what of you, my son?" Splinter asked worriedly, his thick brows furrowing upon his pale forehead.

"I can inject myself then take the sedative. I'll feel the initial effects, but it won't be as bad –" Donny trailed off staring at his tough brother and wishing he had thought of the sedative in the first place.

Raph awoke some time later to find all of his family whimpering and shifting in their sleep. He grimaced a pained smile, Donny had given them something, he was glad. The transformation had hurt something fierce, but he would do it again. At least now they knew that it worked. His wait was relatively short, an hour later all four awoke to the smell of pizza and Chinese.

"I hope ya don't mind, but seein as I ain't the best cook and the muta-whatevah took a lot out of me I ordered some pizza. I figured we'd all be pretty hungry. Oh, and Mastah, I got some Chinese delivered for ya. Ya need ta eat too ya know." Raph chided his mentor softly. Everyone noticed the exhaustion in his voice. The others felt relatively all right, just tired. Raph had taken twice the burden the rest of them had.

"Thank you for your perception, my son." Splinter said warmly, his voice tired as he stood and relished the feel of fur and ears and tail, only now realizing exactly how muted his senses had been as a human. The brothers immediately dug in, with Raph nodding off over his half eaten first slice of pizza. Mikey took it as his brotherly duty to keep poking Raph enough to get him through dinner. It was after force feeding his brother four slices that Mikey finally allowed Leo to help Raph upstairs.

"Leo?" Raph asked hoarsely from exhaustion as he was half drug up the stairs. "Do ya - do ya wish I was a better brothah? Be more like Donny? Or like you?" Leo stared at his brother in stunned silence. "Would it be easier if I wasn't here?" Raph asked as his head hit the pillow, asleep before he even knew he was in bed. Leo looked over his brother worriedly.

"Being human was really harsh on you, huh?" Leo smoothed his brother's furrowed brow and hugged his sleeping form, thankful to see the dark green skin, slightly darker freckles that dusted the bridge of his beak and domed head he had known all of his life. Tomorrow they would don their gear for the first time as turtles in months. Leo just hoped that Raph could be pulled back from whatever dark place he had stumbled into this time.

"Guys, I'm worried about him." Leo said worriedly as he returned to the table. The others looked at him expectantly. "Raph asked me if it would be easier if he wasn't here. I think he took being human the hardest. He was isolated and segregated because of his appearances. We've all been treated that way all of our lives, but never from each other. Somehow, I think he's gotten into his head that he doesn't deserve to be our brother or something."

"Raphael has always had trouble finding his place in our family. He finds a place to hold on to as a protector and guardian of the rest of you when danger arises, however he cannot maintain that position when there is nothing to fight. That is why he leaps into danger, not to drag you all into it, but rather to protect his brothers from it. He would take on the world and save his brothers from pain if such were possible." Splinter said sagely. The others thought this over and swiftly agreed. That was how it had always been with Raph. He would leap at any threat without regard for his safety. Most of the times it was when one of them was in trouble.

"I think seeing that vision of losing Mikey also hurt him really bad." Donny spoke up. "When the creature vanished and we could finally see Raph again, his face, it was as if he didn't have anything to live for anymore. I thought he was going to turn his sai upon himself for a moment. I've never seen such self-hatred before." The others brooded worriedly, each thinking upon their journey through the storm drains from the university to Saint Vincent's church where their father had been lost in meditation nearly four months ago. The silence hung heavy full of disquiet until Splinter stood up and spoke.

"It is late and we have endured much, go now and rest. We will find a way to help your brother in the morning." The three remaining turtles bowed and headed up the stairs after bidding their father goodnight. They were all tired, the transformation having taken a lot out of them, but the moans and whimpers coming from Raph's room told them that they had better sleep in their brother's room for the night.

"Me, take me. They ... don't need me. Black sheep. Black son. Better off ... better if I had died. Nevah shoulda been hatched." Raph murmured in his distressed sleep. Leo looked at his little brother with pained eyes. Was it just the dream talking or did Raph really feel that way? Leo couldn't tell, but knew that Raph needed some serious turtle down time, time they did not have.

"Mikey go get all of our pillows and blankets. Oh, and bring Tsuki, Kahi, and Rollo." Leo turned from a bemused Mikey to Don and had his second youngest brother help make a pallet on the floor before lifting Raph from his hammock to the makeshift bed. The four curled up together upon a jumble of bedding with the three plushies that apparently meant so much to their temperamental brother.

Together for the first time since they woke up in Saint Margaret's as four skinny human kids, the four slept as close as possible, each resting slightly against Raphael letting him know that he was not alone. The night passed slowly for the brothers, each dropping off one by one to the embrace of quite sleep.

Raph sighed and stirred, wondering why his hammock felt so hard. He paused and shifted, only to find himself pinned. Dark eyes flew open to see his room in the semi darkness of night and noticed three forms sleeping around him. Leo slept tucked within his one-armed embrace on one side, with Mikey sleeping on his plastron on the other and Don curled around Mikey, his hand on Raph's head as if seeking comfort in the merest touch. All three held the toys Raph had given them when they were two. In the darkness silent tears trickled down his face.

'They're here.' Raph breathed deeply to control his tears and keep himself silent. 'They are all here. My brothers,' Raph squeezed his eyes tightly shut afraid that this was just another dream, one that came so often.

Many nights he had dreamed of being curled up with his brothers just like when they were kids, just like now. Only when morning came in his nightmares his brothers were no longer there. Usually one had been taken in the night, vanished away leading the family to fall apart with the loss.

His dreams always deteriorated from there, changing to him leaping in front of a sudden attack from their enemies and taking down as many as possible as his remaining brothers joined the fight. He would always be too injured to make the journey back, and they would leave him. Let him be captured, dissected, tortured. His worst one was when Stockman got a hold of him and would somehow remove his shell. Raphael, the shell-less turtle. The trauma would leave him a vegetable, unable to move on his own. Raph felt himself shudder at the memories of his worst nightmares and hoped his brothers would stay asleep. They didn't need to know of the monsters that hid in his dreams. They had enough of their own.

Raph once more closed his eyes, squeezing the hated image of the New York Hunter as it filled his vision, the memory of seeing the monster going after Mikey still fresh in his mind. Initially he focused inward; attempting the breathing exercises Sensei had taught him to control his emotions. Finally, calm restored, he felt content to let his demons lie and return to Morpheus' embrace, midnight was just too early to rise.

* * *

><p>Dawn approached and revealed Master Splinter standing in the doorway of Raphael's room as he watched his sons sleep. He found himself counting their breaths. They looked so young, sleeping in a pile much like how they used to as kids with no masks to hide their innocence. Splinter smiled at the fond scene, and knew that his boys would rest a few more hours yet. Splinter turned to go then thought better of it. The boys were sleeping in a box formation, each on a different side of the blankets. Splinter slid between his sons to curl up in the middle of the jumbled nest. It took only a few moments for his sons to shift in their sleep and wound up curling around their father. Splinter grinned with paternal joy, when he felt Raphael's hand embrace his tail. That had always been Raphael's secret. While the others had their plush toys he gave them, he had their father's tail as his bedtime guardian.<p>

It began when they were still very small. The others were asleep, but Raphael had a nightmare that he would not speak of. When he went to his father, a very large sewer snake approached. Raphael was so small that he was nearly helpless, however Splinter used his tail to lash out at the harmless garden snake and send it away. The young turtle's eyes were wide as saucers with awe at his father's great power. That night, and every other night that his dreams kept him from his brothers' sides he slept curled next to his father, holding the long tail as a guaridan against the demons that lived in his dreams.

Leo stirred and knew by his internal clock that it was nearing noon. He stirred and froze when he nudged something soft, warm and fuzzy with his shoulder. He feared to crush Klunk, until he caught a glimpse of brown and turned to stare at his father's dozing face. Splinter had a warm smile in his sleep. Leo wondered what could bring his father such joy until he noticed his dark green brother's one armed embrace of Splinter's tail. Leo's eyes bugged. Raph had never hugged anything in his sleep, had he? Well, the small baby toys their father gave them when they were really little were the exception, they all had hugged something when they were really small, but Raph had quit hugging their little ragged toys first.

Leo thought back to the first time he had noticed that Raph no longer held onto anything. It was just after their first Christmas. Raph didn't drag a toy into story time, he just hugged his knees.

"_My son, why do you no longer carry your Guardian?" Their guardians were small, ragged, shapeless stuffed toys that could have been bears, or lions, or cats, but were so old and battered that little of them could be told, not even their original color. Splinter had given them to his sons and told them that they were their guardians against nightmares and bad dreams._

"_Gua'din fail. All bad dream..." Splinter looked down upon his son with worry. Raphael had always had bad dreams. His were the worst of all his sons. However, the child would never speak of them, until apparently this night. "Last night, daddy die."_

_Splinter has stared silently at his most difficult to read child and sighed. "Raphael, what is death?" He hated to ask such a question of so small a child, but to understand what Raphael's dreams showed him he needed to know how much he understood._

"_Deat' where daddy hurt lots, mean people hurted him. Daddy - daddy owied." Raphiel stumbled for lack of words. 'Owies' were always scrapes and cuts that bled. "Daddy owied lots. Daddy make the hurt noise. Daddy went to sleep, but daddy wasn't 'sleep. Daddy was died. Daddy nevah come back." Raphael looked down at his tiny hands and a stray tear streaked down his cheek. "Daddy die, cause Raph bad. Raph - Raph shouldna been hatchded..."_

They were so young, how could Raph have known about death when none of them had been out of the lair before, when none of them knew of the outside world? Leo still didn't know the answer; he just hoped that one day he would. He felt that it was imperative that he answer his brother's riddle, that it held the answers to their being able to survive their next encounter.

* * *

><p>They had trained hard for the past week each of them striving to reclaim the skills they felt had lessened during their time as humans, though it was a tie as to who had pushed themselves the hardest. Raphael was constantly pushing himself to be faster, to be more intuitive in his fighting, relying more on their blindfolded exercises to hone his skills. Leo pushed his chi based fighting to its limit. He strove to weave skill of weapon and mastery of chi together into one movement, to be able to increase the ferocity and precision of his attacks such that there was no room for error. Donny and Mikey gave their older brothers the space they felt that they needed. The practice mat got pretty hot at times with the two both striving to prove themselves to their hardest critics, and it wasn't each other. Mikey used his time regaining his speed and accuracy at his chucks, and even did some work with Donny's bo. Donny also got in some practice with alternate weapons, mainly a spare set of sai that Splinter kept on hand and with a naginata. He refused to let his skills slacken just because he was more of a pacifist.<p>

"Guys," Don pulled his brothers from their training when their time to leave for their nightly hunts approached. "I think it would be better if I stayed here tonight. April and I have been working on finding a pattern to the appearances of the Hunter, but we keep striking out. I need to know what the cops know. I'm hacking their system."

Leo and Raph shared a disbelieving glance that their mildest brother would do something illegal and shrugged it off with a fearless grin. "Do it." Leo nodded his approval, the less Splinter knew, the better. "Mikey, you and Raph need to go topside. Take the headsets, and gear. The Hunter came after you once. It should do so again. We need to set a trap."

"My sons," Splinter called his sons together and kneeled before his pupils in the dojo. He looked over his sons critically and liked what he saw in their determined expressions. For once they all were focused on the current mission, with no fooling around or in-fighting. "Tonight there will be no pursuit of Stockman or Bishop," Splinter spoke calmly, eyes steady as he held his sons' gazes. "Instead I need you to go to the Twenty-sixth precinct. April and Casey have been doing much research into the appearance of the New York Hunter you experienced. At that location the head of the investigation into the New York Hunter is being held. You will find all of your answers there. Follow the way of the ninja my sons, do not be seen, and harm none there. For in this instance they may be our only allies against this fiend. Remember, we may need the aid of the humans there, however, we need more, their ignorance to our presence."

"Yes Master," Leo stood and bowed turning to go when a soft command made him still and look back to his father.

"Leatherhead has brought you presents, take these before you go." The four bowed to their father as they took the small devices, "He called them holographic emitters." Splinter smiled at his sons' shining eyes, knowing how important these presents could be now that they had their original forms back.

"Still stayin' here brainiac?" Raph asked with a sly smirk that Don riled at.

"Nah, I'd rather get my data hands on anyways." The four padded silently to the front entrance weapons strapped to their bodies and belts laiden with small tools and weapons should they need them. Leo handed each of them their emitters, his eyes telling them without words to keep them safe and led his brothers from the lair each all too keenly aware of how alone Splinter would be without them there.

However, it had been Splinter himself who had suggested he stay behind when they had first taken to patrolling the rooftops so long ago. His given reason was that he was just aged enough that he might slow them down, however his sons all knew the truth, a truth that had startled them greatly when they finally realized it. Their brave, strong, proud, ageless father, held great fear for the world above. He was still a rat, still a former pet who had relied upon a single human for most of his life and lost that one person he loved above all others, to discover the cruel world on the streets alone. Splinter still harbored that fear, and in it had been stunted in his knowledge and understanding of the world above.

Splinter was not uneducated about the surface world, however, he knew more than he let on about the Battle Nexus, the land of the Ninja Tribunal, the lands of Japan and many other areas, all just having to be rather primitive in technology, less crowded or more accepting of strange beings than New York was. The four left the lair knowing that when they finally returned they would still have a home to return to, one with their father quietly guarding it.

Leo comforted himself with the knowledge that Splinter had learned the full use of their shell cells and kept his hidden within his robes at all times. The numbers for Casey, April, and his favorite Chinese restaurant were all set to speed dial. He only had to press the desired button. Behind him Mikey sighed and trudged along with the others. They had a long journey through the tunnels to reach the 27th precinct, which was closer to the western shore of the Hudson River and mainland New York than they were used to being.

While the journey passed swiftly, it was still not swiftly enough for the brothers as each drifted off into troubled thoughts, each reliving the terrifying moment in the sewers when Raph fought off the Hunter. Leo could still see the terror on Raph's face. The strongest and bravest of them all had been terrified. Mikey still seemed a little shaky whenever he thought of that day and Don kept constantly looking behind them now as if expecting the Hunter to finish what it started. For his part Leo could only keep his eyes on his brothers, watching them, hoping that they would be alright.

When they finally reached the right manhole cover behind the police precinct, the four clamored out, sliding into the shadows of a nearby alley. "Okay guys lets give out presents a field trial. If that doesn't work, we'll go to plan B." Leo nodded at Donny and watched with baited breath as Don slipped the silver clip onto his chest strap connected to his belt. Instantly Donatello the ninja turtle became Donatello Hamato, the human.

"Wow, I don't see how this is possible but I look – and _feel_ like a human." Donny exclaimed softly, gingerly poking the grey t-shirt material covering his now slim waist. "Amazing –!" Donny was cut off from his usual assessment of how the technology worked, a black hand covering his mouth.

"No offense bro, but we get it." Raph ground out from within his hologram. "But, I do gotta admit, LH knows his stuff." Donny gazed up at his brother in shock.

"You mean, we really have five fingers?" Leo asked, amazement and awe making it difficult to find his words to get them moving again.

"Aparently," Raph shrugged. "Guess this means we can go back ta school an still be turtles eh?" The others looked at Raph dumbfounded both at his appearance and that he would suggest going back to school when he had been the most adamant against it.

"Regardless," Leo broke in before they could get distracted. "We know our disguises work, but unless if we want to answer some difficult questions, we can't go in as humans just yet." The brothers disengaged the holograms and scaled the back wall of the building.

"Donny, what floor?" Leo urged when they were approximately half-way up the building.

"Sixth, next one up," Donny looked up the schematics as he climbed, a pair of display glasses overlaying his PDA's display on the wall he climbed. It was a great gadget he had invented. "The detectives' offices have the east wall. The officer's in charge should be in just about the middle."

Donny moved easily to the front of the building, placing a video and voice capture bug against the window utilizing vibration capture technology to listen in on the conversations within the building. As he placed his bot Raph and Mikey moved to the roof, securing the area and posting Raph as lookout by the stairwell door.

"Alright," Leo approached the sheltered corner Don knelt in, crouching at his side. "Mikey, get into the hatch, follow Don's instructions via comm. We need complete reconnaissance on the detectives heading the case."

"On it!" Mikey crowed mutely. With a swift flip and momentary hand stand he slipped the grating from the ventilation shaft and slipped in, knowing with the secure tether around his waist that Raph had his back.

"How long we need ta be out here?" Raph asked, looking at the skyline nervously. "I'm feeling watched out here."

"Same here." Leo replied, "We'll wrap this up as swiftly as we can, but until we know what we're facing we have no leads on who supplied Stockman and Bishop with their mutagen technology." Raph nodded mutely at Leo's words, straining his ears to hear the soft words eminating from Donny's smart PDA.

"_Gentlemen," a smooth, cultured voice spoke up, "You know the drill. We now have thirty-six victims spread across New York. We have random points on a map, an M.O. that has yet to be copied and _no_ leads. Laytner, common hobbies, habits?"_

"_No sir." A smooth voice replied intently, "We've got nurses, doctors, avid gamers, stamp colletors, writers. No one of high profile and only one homeless man. We've looked at schools, churches, restaurants, nearby businesses. These people lived in completely different social spheres."_

"_Damnit Laytner, there has to be something. Haven't you found _anything_?"_

"_Sir," a softer voice spoke, "There is one connection, although it may be far fetched." Papers shuffled and typing on a keyboard as the speaker pulled up files. "IT pulled these internet chat groups from several of the victims' computers. We have Lycan-Therian, RealVamp, , faç, and TheComming. These groups are considered 'otherkin' or spiritual sights. These individuals seem to share a belief that they do not have human souls – or something like it. Others belong to religious sites. Their posts speak of 'faith healing' or 'sensing the presence of The Host' or God._

"_Most of the victims seemed to have something of a gift. We could speak to their neighbors, co-workers, see if the perp is profiling them."_

"_Well, McClain, it seems you at least have done your homework." The cultured voice seemed to purr._

"_Damnit Rose," Laytner cursed, "How are we supposed to track a perp that profiles wack-jobs off internet sub-culture chat rooms?"_

"_Good question." A harsher voice spoke up, "Way I figure it, _Comissioner Rose,_ we've got ourselves a cult. Probably some right-wing Christian group trying to purify the land. These nut cases are going off the deep end regularly so it stands to figure. Though I gotta wonder, if we've got this many in NYC what's goin' down in the rest of the state? And what 'bout Jersey?"_

_The group fell silent momentarily. "JJ and I'll check with other state offices, see if they have any matching MOs."_

"_McClain can keep combing the files and keep in contact with IT. I'll get on the horn with the Jersey cops and see if they have anything." Laytner spoke._

"_I will get in contact with the FBI. We need answers." Commisoner Rose stated and the room became a buzzing hive of activity._

Leo and Don stared at each other incredulously, this was bigger than they thought. "Mikey, Raph, we're out of here."

Mikey pulled himself from the vent shaft, with a grin and followed his brothers to the furthest edge of the building before climbing down. They moved swiftly, descending the building by their shuko spikes as they moved head first towards the ground, flipping to their feet when they were just above head height.

"What did you get?" Don asked rhetorically as he pulled the video capture feeds from the building, grinning when he had a split screen of feeds showing the detectives' activites from the window and from overhead, Mikey's planted device showing the main desk right above a dark haired detective's head.

"Sweet." Mikey breathed as he watched, amazed as Don pulled a remote keyboard from his satchel, unrolled it and connected it to his PDA. With several keystrokes he selected and enlarged the video feed of the detective's desk and zoomed into the documents there. The brothers held their breaths at the large stack visible and the many lists and photographs that covered the desk and the barely visible wall beside the detective.

"Okay, we have this, lets get back to the lair. We can speak with the detectives when we have a solid story to go on." Leo began to turn away and froze at seeing Raph stiffen, knowing the sudden malevolent stillness that filled the air and chilled his blood. Once again a deeper darkness shadowed them and he felt the Hunter moving in. He glanced at his brothers, knowing instantly by the fear etched on their faces that Leo felt it too. Don and Mikey moved closer, backs together and suddenly Leo moved.

"Raph move!" Leo ordered and Raph flipped instantly. His sai ready he attacked the shadows screaming his rage and once more he felt his sai impact against the monster. A hot misting stung his face and he flinced back, looking in hooror at Leo, the twin katana inches from his face stained a deep purplish crimson from the monster's blood.

"Mikey!" Raph immediately turned to their youngest brother, horrified to see him on the ground, Don crouched over him.

"I – I saw it." Don stammered horrified as he knelt and hugged Mikey, the two clinging to one another in terror. This time Mikey had seen it too.

"Hold it! Drop the weapons and slowly step away from the kids!" the commanding voice and tell-tell _snick-click_ of a gun being cocked from behind them.

Raph tensed, eyes glowing with internal rage and spun twin sai flipped points towards him and readied to throw at the dark figure with the gun pointed at him. Leo stared in horror, feeling everything slow down as Raph tensed.

"Raphael _stand down_." Leo's voice barked, command radiating in his voice and frame. The cops flinched, all staring in uncertain surprise from the teen thug with the knives to the smaller teen with the swords.

"Dispatch, we've got a gang fight in progress. Three white teens one black. Blades in evidence. Taking them in."

Leo looked Raph in the eyes, staring his brother down, centering their beloved hot head. "Raph, let them. You stopped it. Mikey's fine. Let them do this."

"Yeah, fearless, got it." Raph finally breathed and bent to place his sai on the ground – and stopped. He looked from the bloodied blades to the trembling cop. "Hey brainiac, got summit I can put these down on? Don't wanna contaminate these things ya know?"

"Contaminate what exactly?" the smooth voice from their spying spoke up, a lean blonde man with glasses and a smart suit stepped from behind the uniformed offiers.

"Sir," Don replied stepping before his brothers, lying two cloths on the ground, one for Raph's sai the other for Leo's katana. "My brothers did not attack us, they protected us. We have lisences to carry our weapons if you'd like to see them." Don trembled as he spoke, Mikey standing just behind him, peeking over his shoulder in nervousness. These were the good guys, right?

Raph and Leo finally set their weapons down and lifted their hads in the air. Raph snarled at the officers but both allowed themselves to be forced to the ground, hands cuffed behind their backs as the officers read them their Miranda Rights. Raph snorted in disdain and Leo hung his head.

"Dude it was the Hunter – _again_." Mikey trembled, his words causing all officers to still and looked the brothers over again.

"What are you talking about?" Commishoner Rose demanded, receiving Mikey's 'are you serious' stare.

"Dude, ya know – _The Hunter_ – the New York Hunter that's been hunting _me_ for the last _four months_!"

"Every victim of the Hunter has been mutilated nearly beyond recognition. How have you managed to survive this long?" Rose stared down Mikey.

"Raph." Mikey replied evenly never breaking eye contact, "Has saved me, and, dude, your man is desperately trying to provoke him, which is never a good thing."

Commissioner Rose looked from the smallest of the boys to the dark boy, Raph, and frowned at the furious expression Raph wore and at the taunting words the officer restraining him kept spouting.

"Officer Jones, the boy is not resisting arrest, keep this up and I will look away at whatever he decides to do in retaliation." Rose said sternly, startling the officer who was immediately pushed aside and a plainclothes detective replaced him,

"Sir, what do you want us to do?" Laytner asked from where he knelt with the dark boy.

"Bring them in. I want forensics on those blades, and boys, I really want to see those permits you spoke of." Rose led the strange procession in and had the four youths separated to seprate interrogation rooms leaving them alone to be observed.

* * *

><p>Leo glared around the room, he did not like this. His brothers were separated from him, and Raph could be getting into trouble. Finally, after how long he did not know, he stood, moving to the far corner of the room where he could watch the door and lowered himself into meditation.<p>

McClain watched the boys, surprised when the second shortest moved from the interrogation table to sit on the floor and closed his eyes, legs crossed in a very painful looking way, heels on calves, toes pointing towards the opposite knee. Then, one by one starting with the shortest, then the other pale youth then, finally Raph all followed suit.

"I guess they're Buddhist." The on site psychologist said as she watched the boys, "That or they are into meditation or spirituality. From what I see, I'm guessing the brunette is the leader of this gang," she pointed at Leo, "The surfer wanna-be is obviously a follower, of who I'm not sure. Then the middle kid there seems to be too smart to be in any kind of gang, but _Raph_, well I'd say he's either attempting to challenge command or is an opposing gang member."

McClain nodded quietly, "That would make sense except Raph took a direct order from Leader. Leader gave him a direct order to _let us_ hand cuff him. Surfer stood up for Raph and _brainiac_, as Raph called him, offered us knowledge about the blades Leader and Raph were carrying."

"Well, guess we get to start questioning." Laytner said as he walked up to the windows with their gang activities specialist, Agent Peacher, in tow.

"Good, you're all here." Commisioner Rose stated as he approached, "Stella, take the dark kid. McClain, you get the little one. Laytner you get the middle kid, and Peacher please handle the leader." The four nodded and turned to their respective rooms.

Berkley Rose stood back and watched, startling when all four fluidly stood as one from their sitting positions and returned to their seats, keeping the table between them and their interrogators.

"Dude, don't I like get a phone call? I mean isn't that part of my rights?" the short one whined.

"It would be if we were charging or arresting you, but we're not." McClain said gently, "I'm Randy McClain I work in Homicide. I'm investigating the New York Hunter case, but we're coming up short. You said that the hunter had come after you."

"No," the kid replied shaking his head vehiemently, "What I said was that the Hunter had come after me _again_. This is the second time that creepshow has tried to make a move on me. It's seriously disturbing."

Berkely turned his attention from the kid to Raph, surprised to see the dark boy pacing, threateningly and Agent Stella twirling her graduation ring on her finger, something she only did when she was afraid. He moved to that window, activating the outside speaker.

"Quit talkin' down ta me lady. I know there here, an' I won't say notin' til' I know where de are!" Raph snarled.

"Listen, this is how it works. You tell us why you have blood on your face, why you and the other kid had blades at each others' throats and why that little boy is covering for you. Then we will let you speak to the others." Stella paused momentarily, "What are those boys to you anyways?"

"Notin' doin' lady." Raph finally sat down, claming up with arms crossed and eyes glaring.

"What is your name?" Stella asked finally.

Raph looked away, stonewalling her with a set scowl.

"Fine, then we will talk to the others, and let them go once we get some answers, but you'll be spending the night in a cell." Stella turned to rise, noticing a glint of metal at the youth's neck line. "And your trinket will be stayin with check-in."

Raph tensed, more like flinched. "Hamato, Raphael"

"Okay Mr. Hamato. I don't want to play this game. I don't like games. So I'm going to make this easy. Answer my questions, then we'll get you in touch with the other boys. Alright?"

"Brothers."

"I'm sorry?" Stella asked, brows furrowed at Raph's grunted words.

"We ain't some gang, were brothers. If ya don't believe me check for missin' an' found persons from three months ago. They're mah bros. An' I wasn't aftah my bro's blood! Yer talkin' bout my big brother! We were both protectin' Mik – Michaelangelo. The New York Hunter's tried gettin' him once before. I ain't losin' my baby bro. Not if I can help it."

"And what of the other boy, is he your brother too?"

"Yeah," Raph sighed resigned, "Donatello, he can't stand violence. More of a pacifist, that's why Leonardo an' I were goin' after it, we don't want Don fightin' if he don't have ta."

"Alright, you're brothers. Adopted?" Raph nodded quietly, eyes filled with recriminations. "You look like you've let someone down." The detective looked him over kindly, wondering what had caused such a woeful expression on such a young face.

"I have. Leo didn't want me ta talk. He wanted ta handle this himself." Raph looked down at his fisted hands.

"I am sorry Raphael, but we have to know what we're dealing with. Now, what does the Hunter look like?"

Berkly watced from outside quietly impressed that the interrogations had gone so smoothly so far. Each of the brothers had confirmed each others' identities, their last name and that they were adopted. It was very impressive. At least up until the interrogators asked what the Hunter looked like.

"You won't believe me." Michaelangelo said evenly with a shrug and a disconcerted pout.

"Trust me, we'd have to find some evidence for its appearance, otherwise you will not believe me." Donatello said quietly, brown eyes hardening as he stared down the detective.

"I can't, you won't believe me." Leonardo said sternly, frowning at the dark skinned Detective Peacher before him.

Raphael bellowed a laugh, "I ain't interested in the loony bin lady. An' if I told ya, that's just where ya'd put me. Trust me."

"Very well," Laytner said with a shrug as he stood from the table. "I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Just think about that until I get back." He looked Donatello over intensly.

"I have." Don replied with equal intensity, "I didn't believe Raph the first time either."

The detectives left the rooms, all silent, all very much disturbed.

"Well, this is interesting." Berkley looked on the brothers, watching as they each moved in different ways. Raphael paced, shadow boxed, did flips and pushups to keep from standing still. Michaelangelo searched the lone desk drawer finding a grease pencil and began doodling on the two way mirror, drawing comic book heroes and monsters. Donatello also searched the drawers fiding paper and pencil and began writing, focusing intently on his work. Leonardo once more sat in the back corner of the room, meditating.

"Raphael is one troubled young man." Stella reported.

"Michaelangelo has been scarred by something," McClain said kindly, "He hides it behind his smile, but you can almost feel his pain."

"Donatello is brilliant," Laynter nodded, "the kid talks _way_ over my head – its getting irritating."

"Leonardo acts as if each of them is his personal responsibility, Berkly that boy acts more like a military commander or a squad lieutenant than a kid." Peacher spoke softly, golden eyes troubled with concern.

"None of them are lying, or at least they don't believe they are." Shauness, the forensic tech spoke from where he sat. The rooms had been tapped with an infrared camera, the brothers' despite their high emotions had not betrayed anything with increased body heat.

"Get some artists in here. I want each boy to have a sitting. If it looks the same, we'll believe them." The detectives moved to a break room, each having some of the stale station coffee while the resident sketch artists were located and called in. Finally, an hour later, the four women arrived each carrying large pads of paper and satchels for their supplies. They were escorted into the rooms by the respective detectives.

Raph twitched uncomfortably as the two women came in, Agent Stella was so – motherly. It was uncomfortable and this new one, she seemed similar to Stockman. The insane scientist shared her intense scrutiny. "Raphael Hamato, this is Wendy Anyeji. Wendy is our sketch artist." Stella spoke gently as Wedy set her self up.

"Alright, Raphael, I need you to remember everything you can about the Hunter. Hair color, eye color, skin tone, clothing. I need as many details as you can give me as accurately as you can. Understand?" Wendy asked stiffly, seeming to radiate dislike of Raph already.

"Yeah." Wendy gestured for Raph to start, "I think its sixfoot, maybe taller. It walks hunched, like its ready ta attack. Its arms are way long they hang past its knees. Its feet they're weird, like it can only walk on the balls o' its feet. Fingers an' toes have long nails more like claws." Raph looked away, as he spoke not wanting to see the artist's disbelieving eyes. He kept his gaze away from her, looking at the wall beyond. "It's got a long face, kinda narrow, the kind of face people say looks like a mule. Only it's more flat, even the nose. More slits than a real nose. It ain't got that colored part of its eye either, only solid yellow it kinda – kinda glows."

"I'm sorry, kid," Wendy spoke up, "But how can you expect me to believe this?"

Raph stood volently chair flying from the force of his legs, making the artist flinch and the detective reach for her gun. "I didn't!" He slammed his fists against the table with a roar, "Lady, I didn't want you in here! _She_ brought you in here, ask her why you're listening to this bull at midnight!" Raph rumbled dangerously.

"They have a reason for bringing me in here! I want to know why you're lying!" Wendy replied heatedly, following her training to stay calm and seated regardless of what she was faced with unless if she was truly threatened or her detective in charge told her otherwise.

"I'm not lying!" Raph roared slamming his fist into the wall with enough force to puch a hole clean through the wall to the other side. "This is why I told them they wouldn't believe me." He turned back on the women glaring heatedly as he tried every method Splinter had taught him to level his temper.

He looked to Stella with dark accusing eyes. "You wanted her in here, she don't believe me, neitha do you so just lock me up already! Cage me, do what you want but I ain't lyin'! That thing came aftah my brotha an' your kind don't belive a kid."

"Please, calm down. Wendy, please just draw what he says." Stella interveined. "Is everything you've told us the truth?"

"Yes," Raph ground out before he calmed himself and took a deep breath, "Man this sounds nuts ta me an' I seen it twice. Its hair is long, black maybe blue, don't think it's died though. It looks mostly human but it ain't an' I say _it_ fer a reason. This thing no matter what it looks like ain't like any human I evah seen."

Outside Berkley felt his face freeze and his skin crawl, if this was made up, then these boys had memorized this. All four spoke of the same creature, only Michaelangelo spoke of it from where he had fallen on the ground. Donatello confirmed the angle of the creature's attacks and how it moved from where he had positioned himself over Michaelangelo. Leo had only seen the creature's back, and all three had only vague images of the creature as if they could not focus on it. Raphael however had details. A place on its face that looked like a birth mark in the shape of a hexagram, the intensity of blue of the skin and a strange sweet yet musky order that followed the creature.

Wendy leaned back from her drawing, "Look anything like this?"

Raph stared and swallowed uncomfortably, "Close enough." The words chilled her. This was supposed to be where the boy laughed.

"Thank you Wendy." Stella said calmly, "Raphael, please wait here a moment longer." She escorted the other woman out the door, leaving Raph alone.

"Please follow me." The commissioner spoke as he stuck his head in the room, Raph stood, keeping silent despite the violence that filled his blood.

"Raph!" Mikey launched himself at his tallest brother, clinging to him in a desperate hug.

"Mikey, get off." Raph sighed with a scowl, suddenly noticing all the cops tense. "Now Mikey."

"Mikey," Don said quietly as he approached, "We discussed this."

"Yeah I know, but –"

"I know Mikey." Leo replied walking up and placing a calming hand on the youngest's shoulder. "Raph, you didn't have to do that. I could feel you punch the wall."

"Sorry, I ain't nevah handled bein' called a liar ta my face well."

"I don't care. I gave you clear instructions to keep quiet and to hold your temper." Leo glared.

"And they said they'd lock me up, _Fearless_ – widout our little good luck charms, if I didn't." Raph thumbed the clip at his shirt front, nodding as his brothers paled.

"Dude, you're hard to deal with on a good day. I don't wish anyone to have to face you in a cell." Mikey quipped, lightening the quartet's mood.

"Comissioner, I've got an irate man on the phone, he's claiming his sons came down here and haven't come back." Lisa from reception came up. "I can't talk to him, he started rambling in some foreign language."

"I'll take it." Commisioner Rose moved from watching the boys to a phone nearby and punched the extension. "This is Comissioner Rose – yes – sir – please – but – Mr. Hamato just – yes. Hey!" Berkley gasped when the phone was suddenly pulled from his grasp.

"Sensei, bokutachi wa daijoubu desu. Just calm down, we're okay." Raph rumbled. "They had us destained fer questionin' an' had sketch artists come in ta sketch the thing. Yeah it came again. No, sensei, sorry. They didn't believe us, sensei. Hopefully, soon. We'll see ya soon, Fathah." Raph placed his hand over the receiver and turned on, black eyes gleaming furiously Rose.

"Our fathah is frantic, worried sick and too damn old to deal with this shit. So be polite and if he asks it send a car down ta pick him up. Here, he'll be willing to listen now." Raph stalked away, snarling silently at Leo's disapproving scowl.

"You did not have to do that." Leo barked.

"Yeah, Fearless, like I could have just stood back as Sensei gave himself a heart attack wid' blondie ovah there stonewallin' him. Is that what the good son does?"

"Enough," Don snarled. "Not here, not again! I will not let you two get into another fight. Either suck it in and keep it for the practice mat or I'm taking Mikey and we're gone. Remember the last time you two fought? We'll I do and being worried sick about Leo's health and _your_ sanity is not high on my repeat occourences."

"Whoa, dudes, the one we should be mad at is out there. Remember the hunter tried to _kill_ me, your cute little baby brother?"

Raph, Leo and Don sighed, "He's right."

"Yeah, sorry." Leo rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably while Raph just nodded in silence and looked away.

"Well," Commishoner Rose approached, face pale. "It seems Mr. Hamato is being picked up by a squad car. He'll be here in less than an hour."

"Sir," Wendy spoke up, "You can't believe these kids. Did you even look at the bullshit this kid told me?"

"Miss Anyeji, I have listened to and seen what all four of these kids have said, and all of them match up. Now, I believe your part in this is over." Wendy suddenly felt the room grow cold and moved away, following the other sketch artists. "Mrs. Daniels, please remain. I would like for you to sit in with us. The boys may remember something else that could be of use." The commissioner requested of the most polite artist who had sketched for Leo.

"Alright, I have let this go long engouh, Raphael, please come here." Agent Stella approached with a first aid kit. Raph looked at his brothers and shrugged approaching the woman. "Let me see that hand of your-s" She took his hand, turning and twisting it gently, palpitating the first two knuckles before finally looking up in suspicion at Raph.

"You punched _through_ the wall and you don't have a single scratch on you. How is that possible?"

"Our fatha's a martial arts mastah. He trained me ta keep my tempah in check when notin' else worked. Guess doin' that most my life an now ROTC is makin' my skin tougher." Raph shrugged defensively, black eyes hard as he kept from looking at the motherly woman.

"Strong man, to keep someone as rough and tumble as you in line." Agent Stella admonished gently.

"Alright," Rose sighed, "This has been a long day, lets get this over with before Mr. Hamato comes to claim his boys." He turned to Leonardo, "Follow us to Conference room 4. Stella, get Jennifer to get us some coffees and for the boys –"

"Coffee." The four chorused together.

"Fine, get us all coffees."

The group retired to the conference room, all involved detectives listening to the story the boys told intently. An hour later when Splinter arrived the detectives had grilled the brothers until Raph was seeing red.

* * *

><p>"Mister Hamato, you cannot go in there. The detectives are not finished with their questioning." Wendy attempted to intercede, keeping Splinter from going further into the princint.<p>

"A father always knows when his children are in need of him, as mine are in need of me now. Please, I must see my children immediately." Splinter looked hard at the woman, "Unless, officer, if your detectives plan to prosecute my sons without the presence of an attorney." The soft threat the words held chilled the young woman who finally sighed and gave in.

"Alright, alright, follow me." She stormed through the precinct expecting to leave the aged man behind and have to slow down for him, only to realize he never left her side. She approached a row of conference rooms, knocking on the first she approached. "Commishoner Rose, I have Mr. Hamato here for his sons."

A rumbled response came through the door and a tall dark haired man came out, ushering the elderly looking man in. Splinter looked straight at his sons once he entered, noticing immediately how hot Raphael's temper flared and Leonardo seethed with suppressed rage. Whatever had been said by the officers his sons were furious.

"My sons, what has angered you so?" Splinter asked gently meeting each son's gaze with his own filled with all his love and concern.

Leo took a deep sharp breath, attempting to find words that would not sound like a petulant child pointing blame. "Master Splinter, they believe we are making this up."

"Mr. Hamato, have you seen this _creature_?" the Commissioner asked wearily. He expected to hear apologies, he expected explanations or defenses of his children being 'good' and 'not causing trouble', but he did not expect what the older man said, his eyes widening with each word.

"Commissioner Rose, while I have not seen this creature I know it does exist. I also know that you should employ my sons to assist in finding this creature before more have to die. One of your victims, Seanna Connor was an aquaintace of mine. We were speaking yesterday when her presence suddenly faded. She was murdered by the Hunter at a quarter to ten in her own home. She was a proficient reiki healer and empath. As Seanna died, her energy faded as if being consumed. Michaelangelo is also proficient in manipulating his ki, but he lacks the focus to continually suppress his internal energies that his brothers have mastered. That is why he has been targeted and why he will be attacked again." Splint stood tall to his full height and inwardly smiled as the Commissioner looked to McClain with wide eyed disbelief.

"And just what do you suggest?" Rose demanded tiredly glancing at his watch and wondering if it would even be worth going home with it already being nearly one-thirty in the moring.

"We have a long standing acquaintance, Officer Nanashi. Here is his number, he knows my sons and he can assist in tracking this criminal." Splinter replied serenely, making the entire situation surreal to the hardened New York detectives.

"Fine, we will contact Nanashi and have him collaborate with us. Now, take your boys and go home." Rose dismissed the meeting exhaustedly.

"My sons, you are uninjured?" Splinter asked calmly, hiding the fear of losing his sons.

"Completely fine, sensei." Mikey replied as cheerily as he could.

"Yo, Rose, where's our blades?" Raphael demanded. The gritty harsh accented voice was actually soothing to Rose's nerves after getting the silent treatment from the youth.

"Show some respect kid." Laytner glared at the kid, seeing a lot of the same hot-headed brashness that got him in trouble in his own youth.

"Sir, please?" Donatello asked wearily, "Where are the two Sai and two katana my brothers relinquished for testing?"

"My sons?" Splinter asked, allowing the endearment to speak for him.

"Master Splinter," Donatello looked at his father, "Leo and Raph defended Mikey from the Hunter, all blades had drops of blood on them that should have been enough to collect genetic samples – material to test and determine what we are facing."

"Commissioner, has the material for these tests been collected from the weapons?" Splinter asked hoping a more – refined – approach would get through to the blonde officer.

Berkley stood and grabbed the wall phone, "Are we finished with the Hamato blades?" He asked into the receiver, "Good, have someone bring them up immediately."

* * *

><p>"Finally." Mikey groaned with relief as they walked into their home, immediately sagging into the nearest chair. His father walked with slow regal steps that spoke volumes of his exhaustion to his room letting the door shut behind him.<p>

"I hate being a human." Raphael groaned leaning against the nearest wall. He flipped the hologram emitter off returning to his normal shape.

"Raph," Leo rasped, "It's almost three, you should at least sit down for a while. You still have ROTC in the morning."

"I know, Leo. Don't worry, bro. We've faced worse." He replied with his characteristic crooked grin and trudged off to the showers.

Leo leapt to his feet, heart racing, katana in hands as his whole body trembled from waking too soon with too little sleep. "Stand down, fearless. It's just the doorbell." Raph rumbled with a yawn. Leo looked around, sheathing his swords and slipping the sheaths from his back as he moved behind Raph.

"Mornin', Sergent." Raph greeted roughly as he opened the door.

Sergent Epps looked from Raph to the brother behind him and noticed the two others still dozing with their heads on the table. "Long night?"

"Yeah, ya could say that." Raph replied.

"Alright, get in the van. I'll be right there." Epps dismissed Raph and turned to the other brother in the doorway. "You're Leonardo, right?" The smaller boy nodded tiredly, wariness filling the stoic depths of his eyes. "I need to know, is Raphael good at anything?"

"Well," Leo stepped back slightly allowing his thoughts to settle. He thought back over the past few months smiling slightly at all they had been through, "Raph works with his hands the best of all of us. Hard work, metal work, engines – it's somewhat natural to him. He is more intuitive than book smart, he's a good brother."

"Huh," Epps sighed, "That doesn't help me much. Listen, he's spoken some about you and your brothers, He says that Michaelangelo is creative, impressionable, enthusiastic. Donatello he says is a genius, and more than that he's got sense beyond his brains. He says that you've got amazing skills, you're dedicated, brilliant when you need to be. But, when he talks about himself all I hear is 'hothead, loose cannon, and rogue.' He has yet to say one good thing he can do. Outside of following orders I don't know him, and I need something to base my opinions on and to see if he can make it in the Rangers. He's got potential. He's got it in droves, but he needs more."

"Dude, he's our special brand of luck. Everytime we get in a scrape he's pulling our tails out of danger. This one time, we were in the wrong part of town, being chased by a gang with guns. We come to a dead end, with doors along one wall. Genius Donny says, 'buy me some time, I'll have to check for security alarms.' But, Raph just kicks a random door down – no alarm." Mikey spoke up muzzily leaning against the wall, grinning hugely.

"He's loyal, to the end. No matter what, if he promises something, he'll deliver – and then some." Don approached. "Leo's our unofficial 'group leader' but when we were younger he hit a rough patch, he got angry all the time. Leo started acting like Raph, which was scary as Raph's got a temper, but then Raph started acting like Leo, which was scarier. The hothead lecturing our level headed leader who was – being a hot head. Well, Sensei sent Leo off to Japan to visit the school that trained our grandfather. While he was gone Raph was in charge and it was as if Leo was just outside our door. We took up what we needed to, covered Leo's chores but Raph was there keeping us all together. It was as if his short fuse had just – been shelved. He had so much patience. Although after Leo came back our resident hot head came back full force."

"Raphael mentioned that you, Donatello, were placed in charge when Leonardo was sent to South America. Why do you think that was?" Epps asked confused as to why a proven leader would be cast aside for someone different.

"Because," Mikey shrugged answering for his brothers, "We're all supposed to learn how to lead and look after the others should the need arise. Leo's been leader since we were little, Raph came in close second but his temper would get the best of him when I'd learn a new technique faster."

"Wait, what?" Epps looked from Leo to Mikey.

"Sergent, Raphael will soon become suspicious, or worse bored. Let me explain so that my most sensitive son does not have to suffer the doubts in his mind." Splinter shuffled from his room with a tired smile, "Michaelangelo is a natural talent in ninjutsu. Whatever I show him he learns almost instantaneously. However, his pride in his skill is tempered with his natural curiosity which keeps him from focusing as intently as he should on his practice. Making him naturally more skilled, but less precise.

"Donatello is the most gifted of my sons, capable of learning great many things without guidance. Yet he is one who seeks ways around fighting, his mind naturally more interested in answering the questions that keep him from focusing on his training.

"Leonardo is the most focused of my sons, and my best pupil. He trains with everything he has, and holds within him a strong love for his family, and much pride. He is the least talented but because of his dedication he is the most skilled and powerful fighter of my sons.

"Raphael is the most sensitive. He feels strongly everything that goes on within our family though he hides it behind a hardened exterior. His muscles are strong, and he is skilled, second in natural talent to Michaelangelo, second in dedication to Leonardo, second in natural learning to Donatello. His greatest asset is his loyalty, which is the greatest of my sons.

"My sons balance each other out, creating a harmony within our family. Now you must go. Good day, Sergent Epps." Splinter bowed the dark skinned man out of his home and shut the door, the lock snicking into place.

"Damn. This kid's deep." Epps swore to himself as he strode to his truck, noticing immediately the dark internalized emotions that lingered behind the youth's eyes. "You've got yourself one heck of a family, Hamato."

"Yeah." Raph shrugged and looked away out the window, dark eyes glittering in the early dawn light.

"You can ask, kid." Epps spoke into the tense silence, uncertainty and distrust radiating from the youth like heatwave from hot asphalt.

"What did ya have ta tell my bros that ya couldn't tell me?" Raph asked evenly, hiding the thought that he was going to be kicked from the ROTC. He thought he'd been doing well. He thought he was proving himself to be a good soldier.

"Nothing." Epps replied easily despite the silent amazement that filled him at seeing the inner sensitivity that the kid's father had spoken of glittering deep within the troubled dark eyes, "I had to ask them what they thought you were good at, since you can never tell me for yourself."

Raph swallowed tightly, bitterness welling inside. He was still uncertain after the months of being questioned about being the real brother to Leo and Don. The doubts, judgement and disbelief had been playing with his mind. Those doubts mixed with the still lingerning self-recriminations he held from the Nightwatcher debacle, allowing him to so easily see himself as the unwanted son. Now, only having one week to become more acclimated to being a turtle again and having to pretend to be human with the hologram emitter Raph still felt uneasy. Still felt the old shame and self hatred that the Winters Fiasco had instilled within him. "Guess you got your answer." He replied flatly.

"Yeah, apparently you're a good brother, a decent mechanic, work well with your head and your hands, and you've got some skills reading people. That's a hard knack to teach, kid. It's harder to train and damn difficult to come across in most folks." Epps hid a smirk as Raph whipped his head around to stare at his CO in shock.

"Uh, they say that?" Raph asked nervously, the last thing he needed was to have his brothers going all soft on him. He'd go insane if they were constantly nice to him, who'd he fight with? Who would he yell at and know that a shrug and a good deed would mend whatever came between them? If they went soft they'd never return his arguments and forgive him _before_ they all had a good long stew. What would be the fun in that?

"Not in so many words." Epps replied evenly, slightly amused at the near horror Raph had exhued.

"Oh." Raph relaxed as the threatening turmoil of his thoughts calmed and the world returned to normal. The two remained silent through the short ride to the university campus, each lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

><p>AN: I am planning on side fics that follow the New York Hunter from the perspectives of Eliza, the Gargoyles and the detectives from FAKE.


	5. Reclamation, part 2

**A/N:** Crossover of the 2003 series, Fast Forward and the 2007 movie with Gargoyles and Fake.

Warnings for violence, mild swearing

* * *

><p>Epps stood back in the hot sunshine and stared in amazement at his recruits. Today was surprise fitness testing, he had to push his kids, make them see what they really had. Most did what he expected, performed at about average one or two slightly above. A girl was making most of the boys look bad, and then there was Raphael. A kid that big with that much muscle and built like an Olympian god had no right to move that fast.<p>

Raph was close to beating the timed run assessment, ten seconds behind the fastest so far. He was strong, terrifyingly strong in fact. And, he had amazing reflexes. 'Two minutes, three hundred push-ups. Two minutes, one hundred-eighty sit ups.' The list went on, so many things that were just _not_ normal.

"Hey Raphie-boy you're Slo-ow!" Michaelangelo's voice sang out from the sidelines. The response was immediate – and surprising. Raph put on a burst of speed, nearly doubling his pace with a feral, furious snarl across his face.

"Oh come on! _I_ can run faster." Donatello yelled out.

"You're proving me right, Raph. _I am better than you_." The dark words brought back painful memories for both Leo and Raph from so many months ago, from a rainy rooftop where Raph bested Leo – and abandoned him. It brought back memories of a swirling vortex and facing the world without their oldest brother and leader. Raph ran, face dark, eyes burning with internalized hate.

"Time!" Epps bellowed, "Walk it off Hamato." He turned to give the brothers a piece of his mind, only to find them jogging to Raph's side, jostling him and grinning. Despite Raphael obviously being adopted from a completely separate family the brothers were like any others, only Raph responded more favorably with taunts of not being good enough rather than encouragements. Epps shrugged, each to their own.

"Leonardo!" Epps hollered, summoning the eldest brother to his side. The second smallest brother jogged to Epps looking at him curiously. "These are Raph's times. Do you think he did his best?" He showed the smaller boy the numbers, expecting to see him impressed with his brother.

"That's it?" Leo demanded with a glare at the clipboard as if expecting the numbers to change and give proof to a lie, yet hesitant to speak up and make the Sergeant suspicious of Raphael. "No, this is – pretty weak. He had maybe two hours of sleep last night, but his normal is much more acceptable." Leo replied worriedly as he looked to where Raph paced and paused with hands on thighs as he strove to reclaim his breath. The tallest of the brothers looked pale beneath his darker skin, exhaustion from their late night spent in the police station making him slow down. "He's normally much faster – and stronger. He can punch through solid concrete walls, splinter marble pillars. When sensei said he was the strongest of us, he meant it. We all did."

"Damn, he's _stronger_? I have to see this." Epps jotted on his clipboard before calling his kids back to the main field, "Alright, alright I'm impressed. Normally I can't say that, but the _worst_ anyone did was just under average. Deltridge, Sturgis, Hamato – step forward. You three have out done yourselves, amazingly so. However, I'm curious, is this," he held up his clipboard shaking it for emphasis, "The best you can do?"

Deltridge, the only girl of the three and nineteen-years-old , responded first with a wheeze in her voice, "Sir, yes sir."

Sturgis, the next in line and a second start senior of twenty-four gasped his response, "Sir that was everything I had, sir."

Raphael, the youngest of the group stood straighter as Epps looked to him, "Sir, I gave everything I had, but I don't have much today, sir." His voice was too soft compared to his normal loud bellow.

"I don't think I understood that, Hamato." Epps responded darkly, doubting Leo's words but wanting to be proven wrong this time.

"Sir, this was half-assed. I'm weak today, sir." Raph bristled at having to make that admission, but something in Leo's face made him respond honestly. Leo's clear eyed glare and cross armed stance told him that there was more than pride riding on his answer. The 'Fearless Leader' scowl was enough to make Raph ignore his fellow students who stared at him as if he had grown a second head and scales.

"Really, you mean you just sashayed through all my tests and wasted my time?" Epps glowered.

"No, sir –"

"Raphael!" A dark, gravelly voice roared across the field making everyone flinch as a uniformed officer marched furiously towards him. "Sergeant, I need your recruit for a moment." A uniformed patrol officer paused before Epps, murmuring too softly for the recruits to hear before signaling Raph to join them.

"This is 'bout the wall, ain't it?" Raph asked sheepishly as he approached tiredly, shoulders slumped despite how hard he tried to stand straight and tall.

"Yes, it's about '_the wall_.' I don't care what any high falutin' jack ass calls you – no punching through walls! Do you even know how much it's going to cost to have that fixed, do you? And, _how_ did you sever through a main circuit without electrocuting yourself?"

"Our special brand of luck, true ta form." Raph groused with a downcast glare, missing Epps' wide eyed surprise as he remembered Mikey that morning using those exact same words to praise Raphael.

"Well, congratulations. Your _luck_ won you this." Officer Nanashi grated as he roughly slapped a tracer cuff on Raph's wrist, "Now _we_ can track you. If we get a lead on the location of the hunter we'll let you know. And, if _you_ see anything you'll let us know." Nanashi snarled, hiding a wink from Epps, making Raph's stomach clench in anticipation. "Oh, and guess what?" He snarled waiting for an answer to show how furious this was making him.

"Uh, what?" Raph asked tiredly, he did not want to know what Nanashi knew; he wanted nothing more than to finish this testing and collapse back in his own hammock, in his own dark room and sleep until tomorrow.

"You and Leo are heroes now, the saviors of New York. Forensics got a partial match they're working with the FBI to make a tracking device for the suspect as we speak." With the cuff in place Nanashi stormed up the hill to the other brothers and slapped cuffs on each of them while relaying his instructions before storming away.

"You punched through a wall?" Epps asked disturbed, grateful that his other kids were too far away to overhear their discussion.

"Yeah, Mikey –" Raph swallowed tightly around the still throbbing bile and fury that filled his throat, "The Hunta tried for Mikey last night." Epps froze, eyes darting from the drained but furious Raph to stare at the blue eyed, hyper youngest of the brothers who had remained subdued and clingy to his other brothers throughout the day. "The detectives called me a liar said that I was tryin' ta hurt my bro. I had ta do somethin' – get it outa me or else I'd do somethin' I'd regret. So I punched the wall – _lightly_ – talk 'bout yer sub standard building. Normally I'd only get half through." Raph finished with an unconcerned shrug.

"Only half through?" Epps asked, with an astounded grin. "Atten-_hut_" Epps turned back to his small unit, signaling Raph to return to his position. "Courtesy of Hamato here anyone who wants another chance will get to retry the entire circuit in three days. Dismissed!"

* * *

><p>"Great, I hate to say it but I think Nobody is lying to us." Don said quietly as they returned to the surface dojo. "We supply blood samples to the police from the Hunter and the next day they are able to accurately track the killer? This isn't right. The police don't have that kind of technology available to them."<p>

"Dude, the military couldn't track this thing. So, if they're not able to track it, who is?" Mikey asked tiredly flopping onto the couch with a groan.

"Someone else is." Leo rubbed his face tiredly with one hand and sighed. "We have to decide what is more important here." He held up one candle and broke off the end exposing the bottom of the wick then lit both ends. "One, we have to find Stockman and Bishop and whoever assisted them in creating the blue serum that changed us. Two, we have to stop the Hunter." He met his brothers' gazes one at a time, "I think we need to go after Stockman. If they can mutate _us_ into humans what can they mutate humans into?"

"Bro, Nobody was providin' us a cover story. He gave me a sign while talkin' ta Epps. He wants us to pull night shifts an' get some leads on who's runnin' the Hunta search. The Justice Force is in on this, but even they don't know everythin'." Raph replied heatedly. They had to know more, they had to get ahead of any other crew that might be searching for the hunter. He didn't know why, but he _knew_ that they were the current targets and the longer they kept the Hunter busy the longer they would go without another body. Raph snarled to himself at the thought though, despite his exhaustion he refused to watch Mikey nearly get killed a third time and taunting the Hunter would only get him killed faster.

"Then we split up. Don you're with me, we're checking on the cops and seeing who is chasing the Hunter. Raph, you take Mikey and start following leads on Stockman and Bishop. Go after Hun first. He might know what Bishop is after. If not, start poking around the military information sites. We need information."

"That may be true my sons, but first you must rest. You will only lose your focus if you continue as you have." Splinter approached, setting plates before his sons around the coffee table instead of demanding them come to eat at the main table as he normally did. "Do not expect this to become normal either, my children. After this we eat at the table as a family."

"Hai, sensei." The brothers chorused as they ate and nodded over their food before being ushered to bed.

* * *

><p>Raph sat up with a start, heart pounding and sweat beading along his skin. He closed his eyes, pressing his hands against his face, burying his eyes in the complete blackness of his palms. Two fingers gripped his brow while his thumbs pressed against his temples. The room was quiet, his movements upon his hammock making small noises as fibers stretched around his shell and legs.<p>

Something had woke him up, something that made his heart pound and ache with remembered loss. Golden eyes filled his memory, a soft voice, softer lips and reaching hands traced unbidden along his memories. Jar, he felt the loss of his first love intensely as he had since Jarrod Van Dross had died months ago. Jarrod with the emerald eyes, not the golden ones he had fallen for.

"Why'm I thinkin' o' him now?" Raph snarled as he swung his legs to the floor. They had enough on their shells already! "What made ya so sad Jar? What couldn't ya tell me on that rooftop?" Raph murmured into the blackness created in his palms trying to make the tightness in his chest go away. He squeezed his eyes shut, welcoming the deeper blackness and attempted to clear his mind of the depthless golden eyes that had entrapped him months ago.

A soft shushing filled his room, freezing him where he sat and making his arms fall against his will. Raph looked with narrowed eyes through the darkness of his room taking in his Spartan furnishings and small messes then stilled, as a twinkling of gold caught his eye from the far corner. "Jar?" The name was whispered, almost worshipful. They had seen ghosts before. There had been things too fantastic to believe that had left scars on their minds and bodies to prove their existence.

"I never got to thank you." A voice replied, timid and shy yet deep, almost breathless. Raph leapt from his hammock, landing nimbly in the middle of his room and stared at the massive serpentine form of Jar. "I did not intend to hurt you, Raphael. Please forgive me. I still wait in the jungle of shadows."

"Ya mean yer alive? Then who'd we bury?" Raph demanded, eyes shimmering despite his uncertainty and the timid longing coiling within his gut. "Jar I saw yer picture. Yer Jarrod Von Drose, ya – you were in a coma for four years, ya _died_ in a coma. _What_ are you?"

"Peace, Raphael. Jarrod Von Drose died in his father's arms four years ago. They brought his body back to life, but his spirit never returned. He called me while I was spirit walking, seeking freedom from his mortal prison. Jarrod came to you to be freed from his father." The shadow sighed, golden eyes blinking slowly. "Raphael, I came to warn you. You are in danger a creature is hunting anyone with great powers. At first it hunted only those who did not fit in normal society, the outcasts of normalcy. We feared for so long, Raphael, but now. Now, it is hunting normal people, those with – gifts."

"Ya could have warned me months ago, ya could have warned me on that rooftop." Raph snarled as he furiously approached the golden eyed shadow. "That monsta tried ta take my baby bro from me _twice_. Ya loved me that night an' the next Mikey is nearly killed. I've had ta watch that monsta murder my bro twice in my head. I can only just focus an' try ta take the monsta down before 'e gets Mikey." Raph squeezed his eyes shut against the memory of Mikey on the floor of the sewer, hollow eye sockets gaping up as Raph trembled in horror, eyes riveted on the still twitching muscles that once held his eyes in place.

"Forgive me, Raphael. Once Van Dross had been exposed I had to return to my body as Jarrod's could no longer support me. My time is short here; the distance is great between us. Raphael the monster is coming for you. You Raphael, it's coming for you. Run, run or your brothers will be forced to watch you die, and likely fall as well."

A scream tore through Raph's throat pulling him awake all at once. His limbs tingled, heavy from coming out of a dream walk too fast, yet he did not, _could not_, stop. With a gasp he flung himself from his hammock throwing on his gear, grabbing sai and shell cell as he fled. The lair was too still, too quiet yet Raph could not stop to check.

"…_a creature is hunting anyone with great powers…it is hunting normal people, those with – gifts…run or your brothers will … die…"_

Jar's words echoed in his head spurring him as his feet pounded through the sewers, trailing echoes of sloshing water and sewage in his wake. His brain counted the man hole covers, keeping tally of where he was though he was not conscious of doing so. While his feet pounded through the watery sludge his mind ran in circles, piecing together everything he knew. Slowly, despite the pace his feet set, his mind dredged conversations from weeks ago finding a startling revelation his brothers had missed, one that he had over looked.

"_Start with Hun … We have to find out more about Stockman and Bishop … Someone else had to make the mutagen … If they could turn us into humans what can they turn humans into?"_

"Shell! That monsta was a prototype ta test a mutagen, ta study how ta make us human. They was mutatin' a mutant." Raph snarled then fled from the sewers, following the churning in his gut that pulled him to the rooftops and up to midtown. The skyscrapers rose taller and taller into the night sky with their strobe lights blinking brilliantly overhead to warn off air craft from their spires.

His feet pounded across the concrete and asphalt, stone and glass. The city passed below him, darkened alleys, small crimes, cries for help unheeded. Tonight those who asked for succor from the sins of others went unaided and Raph cursed himself, the Hunter and everyone involved that he could not aid his people. That tonight he could not fight for his city.

Raph continued running through the dark night heading to a location only some instinct could lead him to. The distant stars obscured by clouds and ground level lights spun overhead and still Raph ran, tearing across the skyline following the tugging deep inside that filled his nerves with the jangling song of promised violence.

* * *

><p>"Maza, here is the tracker for the boys on that Hunter case. Take care of them; they're the best I've got." Nanashi handed a chip to the plainclothes detective and walked away, never looking the woman in the eye or letting her fully see his face.<p>

"Great, kids doing police work, just what we need." She sighed and sauntered back to her red cruiser where her partner waited and her overhead watchers hid. "That was our inter department mole, he goes by Nanashi, and he can change his face, his voice at any time." Elisa explained as she leaned against the side of her car. Here she could discuss the case with Matt yet still have her allies listen in.

"Nanashi?" Matt Bluestone asked as he rubbed his neck tiredly. "Wait – my nephew watches this show, what was it?" He sighed and rubbed his temple before brightening, "Gundam Wing, the show is terrible, but one character is called Nanashi, Japanese for "no name."" Matt grinned.

"Then this No Name you speak of takes police information? For what purpose?" the massive shadow from the roof asked as it descended in a graceful glide to the street, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

"I'm not sure." Maza replied, narrowing her glimmering black eyes in suspicion, "But, this time he's given me the signatures for GPS bracelets that monitor an individual's location when under house arrest or police protection."

"Oh, wow I've read about this!" a smaller shadow enthused as it hop-glided from a different rooftop to the street and snatched the case from the woman. "Sorry Eliza, but I can get the signal established while you talk." The child-like shadow shrugged abashedly. A small laptop materialized from behind the small shadow, its dim light washing over the strange features of the smallest of Eliza Maza's skyline guardians, her family, the gargoyles.

Eliza smiled to herself as the lone shadow of Lexington suddenly became the quadrupled shadow of his rookery brothers, Broadway and Brooklyn with Goliath's daughter, Angela. The four were close, now that the initial strain of Angela's arrival had faded and Brooklyn had returned from his forty-second long journey in the Phoenix Gate that aged him forty years. Now, Brooklyn and Lexington accepted her as a rookery sister and that she was Broadway's beloved. It was easier now, for all of them. But, especially for Angela who no longer had the overwhelming affections of three young males being thrown at her constantly. They now had a solidarity that Eliza sometimes envied. Too many people in her life never accepted her or her decisions – and, she admitted silently to herself in silent recrimination – most of that was instigated by her despite her best intentions.

"Maza, you alright? You were spacing there." Matt called, tapping the side of the car lightly with his palm to get her to focus once more.

"Oh, yeah – I'm fine." Eliza sighed, "The tracer bracelets belong to four brothers, adopted sons of a martial arts instructor. The rumor mill claims that they have survived run-ins with the Hunter twice now, both targeting the youngest. Apparently they approached the detectives over at Twenty-sixth with a story of a blue skinned monster."

"Uh, Eliza?" Lexington called hesitantly from where he crouched with his laptop, "One's headed straight for us."

* * *

><p>Leo woke with a start, feeling as if something had just been in his room, something that called his name. He looked around, sight sharpening as he focused his ki, yet he found nothing. No signature of a passing spirit, no residue of a visiting astral walker. This was different, whatever it was.<p>

"Leo!" Mikey's voice cried from down the hall, instantly bringing the eldest to his feet and bolting down to Raph's room where Mikey knelt, shivering.

"Mikey?" Leo asked as he knelt beside his youngest brother and froze from the faint lingering stench of the Hunter. The Hunter had been here. Leo stood, swiftly placing his hand on Raph's pillow feeling faint residual heat still trapped in the feather cushion. "He hasn't been gone long. Get your gear, we're going after him."

"I already have him tracked on my PDA. I installed better tracers in our shell cells the last time I rebuilt them and since we've lost them or had them destroyed I also implanted tracers on each of our weapons, face masks and holo-emitters. This way I can find all of us regardless of what we've lost. Well, mostly." Don spoke fluidly already geared up and smiling as he always did when a challenge presented itself.

"Good, find us the shortest route." Leo ordered as he and Mikey swiftly collected their gear and headed out the door to the dark witching hour above.

"Well, the Hunter must be hot on his tail," Don spoke as they raced across the rooftops deeper into the Manhattan borough. "He's running in zigzags and sometimes doubling back on himself, but all of his equipment is in one place so he should still just be running. It looks like his pattern is drawing the Hunter towards the docks."

"Got it, lead the way Don and make it fast." Leo replied, glancing worriedly at Mikey's silent silhouette running beside him in the darkness. Mikey was too quiet, not a noise came from their baby brother, not a sound of breath, muted footsteps, no calls of excitement or anger. Leo's heart pounded, worry for Raph vying for dominance over the abject trepidation of what Mikey might do this time.

Leo fumed silently as they ran he hated it when Mikey was like this, when he was the darker side of the trickster. It hurt to see his baby brother suddenly angry and jaded eyes too old for his young face would replace the bright, innocent façade he presented to the world. It was a pretense they all relied on. Normally Mikey's antics were harmless, but now, this was a different game altogether. With Raph taking the heat from the Hunter Mikey now had time to stew in his own ager and lingering terror from his previous encounters. Now, it was payback. Mikey's natural speed and ingenuity would guarantee him his chance at revenge. This time he would not be paralyzed from the Hunter's all consuming aura that sucked the courage and strength from any intended victim – except hopefully for Raph.

* * *

><p>Raph leapt over the street, taking little heed of the red car parked below or the new stone ornamental gargoyles that seemed to watch him as he fled. His only concern was to get the monster to the abandoned dockyard. There they could fight without witnesses, there he could face whatever the monster was planning without having to worry about innocents in the way. He just prayed his bros were alright and that they could figure his trajectory from his flight path. Finally he found the strip of buildings that made a solid sky road to his destination and bolted, barely noticing the siren wailing in the distance. Someone was in trouble in his town tonight, and for once he could do nothing about it.<p>

With his path open he allowed his mind to relax the ingrained dampening he had on his ki, allowing the Hunter to feel him even as he reached for Leo, hoping to give him a feeling for the dockyard. It wasn't much but it was the best he could do while keeping up his pace. Yet as he ran he held no illusion that he would live through this. The Hunter was insanely fast. Yet it had not attacked him. He knew the monster was playing with him, toying with the one who had thwarted his hunts the last two attempts.

Finally the dockyard came into view and he landed in the dark night shadows, keeping his back to the nearest warehouse and hoping he could get a few solid hits in before the Hunter took him out. The feted, musky smell of the Hunter permeated the night air, suddenly overwhelming him and making his head spin. Still, he focused on the movement of the rapidly cooling air around him, focused on the latent energy of this abandoned place hoping to sense the Hunter as he had before.

"I can't believe it's hunting Raph." Mikey scowled as he ran. In the past when he had been hunted he had been too busy being terrified out of his shell to be angry. This time, he wasn't scared. This monster was hunting his _brother_, his hero. The Hunter was after the Nightwatcher – regardless that the Nightwatcher had been retired for the better part of a year. It was still hunting his best friend!

He felt more than heard his brothers behind him, they were taking the quickest shortcut to the abandoned dockyard following the zigzagging pattern Raph had laced across the skyline. Once in the deeply shadowed space they hid in darkened corners, each flicking their holo-emitters off to better allow their natural coloring to mask their presence from sight.

Suddenly, Raph leapt from a nearby rooftop, landing on silent feet as he swiftly back-hopped into the deeper shadows between the buildings, back to the tin wall. Now the four of them were back together, Raph allowing his ki to flow around him like a living fog, the others suppressing theirs to the point of nearly blinding themselves from their accustomed sixth sense.

The musky odor from last time filled the air, and all tensed. The Hunter was close. Leo, Mikey and Don slowly maneuvered closer to Raph, flanking him in preparation for when the Hunter arrived. What seemed like an eternity passed in only a few seconds and then the Hunter was there, slashing at Raph. The brothers leapt in, each focusing on a side of the Hunter, keeping the beast engaged and occupied.

Their focus was entirely on the beast between them, and despite the prickling along their spines that spoke of others nearby they shut out that feeling keeping from becoming careless with their most dangerous enemy. Above them a woman's voice chanted, creating a spell wreathed in glowing yellow light. Her clawed fingers held a shimmering ethereal ball of yellow luminescence that was flung at the strange blue figure that was winning, unarmed, against four armed opponents.

With a final yell the woman cast the glowing orb at the Hunter, encompassing the creature in a glowing flash of light that seemed to restrain the creature if only momentarily. The blue beast's movements slowed, and for once it could be seen clearly. Glowing yellow eyes, brilliant even in the shimmering brilliance of the spell, stared from a blue, stone like face. Hexagonal patches of skin seemed to have flaked off from around the cheek and brows making it seem worn and battered. Long spikes extended from its forearms trailing down past its elbows on arms that extended to the creatures ankles. The back was stooped in too many places making the monster huge and deformed.

The illuminated image of the Hunter lasted only moments before the creature seemed to consume the spell and vanish. The brothers barely cast a glance at each other, leaping to regain the rooftops once more just as the woman's voice screamed in agony and a roar like that of a dozen wild predators all screaming their rage at once followed with a man's cry of loss. The brothers moved to the voices, stunned when they saw three monsters standing on the warehouse roof, all clustered around the fallen figure of a female monster.

The creatures bore wings their feet malformed so that they could only walk on the three-toed soles and claws tipped toes and fingers in daggers length talons. Raph crouched as they watched the monsters tend to their fallen female. Worried Raph searched for the Hunter, scrutinizing the clustered monsters and roof beyond but neither eyes nor nose nor inner senses could trace the hideous beast. They had lost it, again.

"She's bleeding too much." One voice mourned at the female's side, the deep tone hollow with anguish.

"And the dawn is still too far away. We must move her to safety." Another spoke, this one gravelly and hard his voice filled with an agony the brothers were far too familiar with.

"Uh, please don't do that." Don spoke as he approached carefully. The monsters arched their wings in surprise, finally noticing that the creatures the Hunter had battled were not human. "If you can move aside, I have some medical experience, although I am unfamiliar with your physiology. I can at least stop the bleeding."

"Please," the tallest of the winged monsters spoke in a deep gravelly voice, "Save my daughter."

Don sighed as he looked at the terrible gash along the woman's front. It extended from her left cheek and jumped to her chest cutting across her heart, along her abdomen and finally trailing off down her right thigh. Within the gaping wound Don could see the deep colored tissues of her entrails. The Hunter had attempted to gut her and was only millimeters too shallow to complete the job.

"Mikey, get over here!" Don ordered, hoping Mikey's advancements in ki manipulation could extend to creating energy bandages for him to sew over.

"Oh shell." The youngest of the brothers breathed, "Can you fix her?" Mikey asked innocent eyes wide wit horror as he looked nervously back towards Raph who stood alone as their guard. Leo moved beside Mikey, taking the lead in keeping their baby brother focused.

"Mikey, this is Don we're talking about. She won't be pretty, but she'll live. Now focus like Master Splinter showed us. Create a barrier between flesh and air. Make the energy seal in the liquid and pull the covers tight." Leo allowed himself to use less graphic descriptions, knowing that Mikey's sensitivity to blood could easily lead him to become sick.

Leo and Mikey sat in Lotus position at the female's head and feet while Don hastily moved to begin sewing the massive wound.

"Can we help?" A different monster asked kindly, long beak and curving, mismatched horns creating an image of a demon that the wild white mane and thick creases around the eyes only reinforced. One of the horns was broken, a black eye patch covered the opposite eye. Tall, lean and worn his one eye watched with the experience of a lifetime of warfare as he scrutinized the strange creatures before him.

"I need someone to keep pressure on her wounds. She also needs to be held down in case she wakes." Don replied curtly, making the red monster flinch and move to keep the worst of the wounds under pressure. Two others moved in as well, one small and yellowish, the other a pale green with a massive beer gut.

"Here," A grating voice spoke at the red monster's side. "Don' use yer hands, even wid the ki she could get an infection. Just press firmly against the wound. Can ya handle this?" Raph passed the monster a clean cloth that was immediately pressed against the female's wounds.

"Uh yeah, no problem. Just what are you?" The red monster asked, naked brow ridge arched nervously over his one good eye.

"I should ask ya the same thing, but since ya asked first. I'm a turtle." Raph replied, once more turning his back on the group watching for the Hunter or other uninvited guests.

"You resemble one – kind of," the taller, younger greenish monster with the beer gut hedged looking the tallest turtle over.

"Fifteen years ago we were purchased from a pet store by a young boy. We were four tiny newly hatched turtles each about two inches long. There was a near accident and a stray container fell from a moving van. The container hit the terrarium we were being carried in and everything fell down a storm drain." Don spoke as he continued stitching, remembering how awe inspiring it was to be thrust into the past and see his and his brothers' origins when pulled through a random time window during their journeys in the future.

"The container held dis strange glowing pink ooze. When it hit us, we were mutated into dis. A rat was mutated wid us, an' an alligator that got flushed by its owners when it was no longer cute." Raph finished as he moved silently over the rooftop patrolling around the perimeter of their working space.

"If you are searching for the beast I believe it is gone for the night." The tallest monster spoke to Raph finally and held up claws coated in the thick purplish blood.

"Okay, we answered your question, now answer ours. What and who are you?" Leo demanded, eyes still shut and brow creased as he manipulated his ki with Mikey.

"We are gargoyles." The tallest replied in his cultured rumbling voice. "I am the leader of our clan; humans gave me the name Goliath. A thousand years ago we lived, or attempted to live, peacefully with the inhabitants of Castle Wyvern in Scotland. Our Princess despised us, and for her disregard of our people my second in command, and mate betrayed the people of the castle to the Vikings. My clan was destroyed, except for five others who were cast under a spell of eternal stone sleep.

"I had left the castle to chase away the Viking once and for all, my mentor by my side. When we returned the destruction of my clan was complete and the princess I had sworn to protect captured by the Vikings. After she was rescued I begged the magus who had made the last of my clan sleep forever to cast the same spell on me." Goliath paused and looked on his daughter, watching as Don swiftly stitched her up, silently amazed at the skill this mutated turtle possessed.

"We awoke here in Manhattan when a man named David Xanatos bought castle Wyvern and moved it to the top of his tower. The spell was designed to break 'when the castle rose above the clouds.' Xanatos saved us." The red monster finished. "I'm Brooklyn, second in command. These are my rookery brothers, Lexington and Broadway and his mate Angela."

"So you're like a species?" Mikey asked from where he sat mirroring Leo's position.

"Yes." A young, yellow gargoyle spoke up. "I'm Lexington."

"I'm Leonardo. These are my brothers Raphael, Donatello and Michaelangelo. Leo turned his head slightly, "Raph you left your emitter behind, it's in Don's bag, side pocket."

"Thanks fearless." Raph replied wearily and clipped a small metal device to his belt.

"Okay." Don finally breathed and moved away from his work, shaking his hand to get the stiffness out of his fingers and wrist. "She needs real medical attention, but barring that if you can rig up a saline drip and change her bandages a few times a day, she should be fine eventually."

"So we can move her?" Broadway asked hopefully.

"Yes, but be careful. It would probably be best if Goliath moved her or someone made a stretcher for her." Don nodded, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

"That will not be necessary. Thank you" Goliath held out his hand to Don the pair shaking over Angela's outstretched form.

"Goliath!" a woman's voice called from the far side of the building as a car door slammed.

"Humans!" Leo hissed, "_Kieyo_."

From one heartbeat to the next the brothers disappeared, leaving the gargoyles to stare in stunned awe at the places where they had once stood.

"Goliath, what happened to Angela?" Eliza Maza demanded as she knelt at the young female gargoyle's side.

"The New York Hunter," Goliath rumbled as he stared into the darkness of the night surrounding the dockyard, keeping silent about the four turtles. He could sense their distrust; they would need to be won to their sides before they revealed them to Elisa.

"Wait," Eliza held up a hand, brow creasing, "So the Hunter attacks Angela and nearly kills her, but four human boys have survived two encounters with this same creature unscathed? Something is not adding up."

"That is something we must look into. I must move Angela back to the castle. She will not be able to defend herself until tomorrow." Goliath spoke evenly.

"Okay, listen, can I keep Lexington with me for a while? He helped me track the Hamato brothers to this location, but now they're moving fast back towards their home." Eliza asked tiredly.

"That would be fine." Goliath rumbled as he lifted his daughter up into his arms, his massive size dwarfing her making her look like a small child as he solemnly lifted her to his chest and he leapt from the rooftop to the night breeze to glide back to the skyscraper perched Castle Wyvern.

"Eliza," Brooklyn stepped forward, standing tall, wings on his armor clad shoulders like a cape. Despite the added years his recent journey added to him he was still the jaded comedian he had been a few months ago. Only now, he was happier. "These Hamatos, do you know their names?"

"Their files show them as Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michalangelo Hamato, aged fifteen. The first three are Caucasian and the last black. They were raised by a Japanese immigrant, a martial arts instructor, and even though they're young, they're in college. Don's in an advanced engineering doctorate program." Brooklyn nodded his thanks and turned to follow Goliath back with Broadway hovering worriedly behind.

"He's up to something," Lex said worriedly, amazed at how the years spent lost in a time loop had aged him even after the intervening months the changes in his rookery brother still surprised him sometimes.

"I know, but for now, I just want to get this shift over so I can pay a visit to the Hamatos in the morning. I really wish I had been left on illegal weapons detail. I hate witness protection and homicide." Eliza returned to her car and her partner softly swearing at how four kids could elude two trained detectives so well.

Lex looked from the rooftop to the red car Eliza seemed to love so much and sighed. Goliath had kept quiet about who had stitched up Angela, pretended the names didn't sound so similar, and Brooklyn had kept the fact that there were mutated turtles in Manhattan away from Eliza. Lex hated keeping these kinds of secrets, but he wanted to know more about the strange mutants, and how they could vanish without a trace. He was certain they had not used a spell, or at least he hadn't heard the chant for one.

Eliza thought back to Goliath as she had watched him standing over Angela, his harsh features showing only concern. She smiled to herself slightly, despite Angela's terrible wounds, she would be fine. Goliath made a wonderful father to the younger gargoyle despite the years they had been kept apart. With a soft, wistful sigh Eliza turned her attention back to driving her car and hoped Matt had not noticed her distance. She had never wanted kids, but lately around Goliath, she wanted to know how he treated a baby – their baby. Despite knowing that they could never have one, the small pool of longing for a winged child still stirred within her.

* * *

><p>"My sons, you are uninjured?" Splinter asked when they finally slipped in through the sewer entrance.<p>

"Yeah." Don replied absently, "Sensei, have you ever heard of gargoyles?"

"You speak of the stone carvings on the buildings here?" Splinter asked abashedly.

"No, actually I was talking about real, living, flying gargoyles." Don sighed and shook his head when Splinter continued to look at him puzzeledly. "Never mind sensei."

"Perhaps you were talking about the kanshisha-jin." Splinter mused, "It is said in the village of Ishimura there lived ancient spirits, those who guard. They became strong within the village but to outsiders they were known as the Tengu, powerful spirits of war. It was said they were born in the peaks of the Three Mountains of Dewa and founded the secluded village of Ishimura. My Master Yoshi spoke of this village with the Ancient one on occasion. It is said that the Ancient One originally was a Shuugendo master, a mountain hermit with great wisdom and spiritual powers.

"According to tradition the Tengu taught the first Shuugendo. In return the master built a house that became the location of Ishimura. The village faded into myth long ago, but it is said that those on perilous journeys will find Ishimura when it is time to return home."

Don gaped at Splinter, eyes bugged in shock. "Tengu? I thought those were bird spirits."

"They were described as winged with great beaks." Splinter replied. Don nodded as he fell into thought. Brooklyn had a beak, wings and horns. The male was red like a fire spirit and had eyes that glowed white when angered appearing to be two floating lights like the hitodama that float over the rivers when someone dies. It made sense, and if _he_ saw Brooklyn diving at him in the night he'd run for the nearest man hole cover.

"So they are real." Don said with a shrug. "Where did Raph go?"

"Dude, he's slept like three hours in two days. He's out cold." Mikey replied with a grin as he booted up the TV and his gaming system. The family fell into its normal routine, all heading to bed before an hour had past, hoping that the next few days would be a little more peaceful.

* * *

><p>Eliza Maza strode onto the sixth floor of the twenty-sixth precinct homicide floor fresh from her night shift, anxious to get this meeting over with as soon as possible. "Gentlemen!" She flinched internally at the sudden silence and cursed her luck for finding one of the few male only departments in the whole of New York. "I need to speak with the detectives in charge of the Hunter Case." She blinked slowly as both the department chief and the local commissioner stepped forward to intercept her.<p>

"Commissioner Berkley Rose, and who might you be?" The taller of the two asked in a smooth cultured voice that oozed Ivy League school and old New England blood.

"Detective Maza first-grade, from seventeenth, an Officer Nanashi gave me a file and four GPS tags for pertinent individuals regarding this case. I spent half the night tailing the Hamato brothers and saw the tail end of a four-to-one fight against something I've never seen before. Now I want some answers." Eliza leaned forward and slapped several close snapshots of a malformed blue monster, purple gem embedded in its forehead.

The detectives gasped and Laytner pulled out the drawings from the Hamatos' sitting two nights ago. Eliza gaped at the drawings, three of them were vague, but one was almost perfect. Whoever had described this had seen this thing up close and more than once.

"You allowed kids to keep fighting this thing?" Maza demanded tartly, eyes narrowed at the taller men.

"Actually Detective," Chief Ross rumbled, "Their father demanded that they be allowed to help. The GPS trackers were the most efficient method of keeping them safe."

"Well, they survived yet another encounter. I'm going to check on them now. I guess that makes me the night guard." Eliza sighed and turned from the office.

"Wait," One of the men spoke up, "I am Detective McClain. If you need assistance, or questions please call anytime." The sandy haired man handed the woman a business card.

"Sure. Here's my cell number. If there's anything I need to know about to help out these kids call me immediately." Maza glared at the six men arranged around the office and turned on her heel as she headed back for the elevator and the commute to east Manhattan and the home of one Master Kifu 'Splinter' Hamato, and his private dojo that only select students got to train in although he currently had no additional student aside from his own sons.

When she pulled up to the side street that housed their home she blanched. The back alley had trash and debris strewn along it, several manhole covers showing the many strange junctions beneath the city where multiple sewer and storm drain lines paralleled each other. The address she sought had a massive rolling garage door, tagged with graffiti and multiple layers of peeling paint. The alley held the stench of old street fights and spilled blood. It was a stench that normally preceded a multitude of street thugs stepping out from the shadows for a fight, yet nothing happened. The anti-climax of this day's events made Maza feel off kilter.

"This day couldn't get any better." She ground out and stepped to the bell beside the garage door. She felt like an idiot pressing a bell in an abandoned alley at eight-thirty in the morning. It was still early, but it felt too late for her tired body. As she waited her mind drifted back to Angela and she hoped the young gargoyle would heal as she slept as they always had before. Yet this wound was the worst she had seen any of the clan take.

"May I help you, miss?" an older man's voice sounded from beside her. Maza looked down as she pulled her mind back to the present.

"Yes, I'm detective Maza I'm here to speak with Kifu Hamato." She smiled as politely as she could while flashing her badge.

"Ah, I am" Splinter paused to pronounce the name he never used, "Kifu, please call me Splinter, Detective Maza. Do you wish to speak to me alone or is it alright for my sons to be present as well?"

"They're awake?" Maza asked stunned. She was used to how her brother had been as a kid, sleeping until noon whenever possible.

Splinter smiled fondly, "Yes, my sons have been lax in their practice so today they had to compensate. Please come in, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Uh, no."

"Dude, we have company? Hi, dudette! Do you like pancakes?" Mikey asked cheerily from the kitchen, his heart sinking at seeing the same woman from the previous night walking into their home and hoped that Raph could keep his big mouth shut.

"Sure, kid. That sounds great. I haven't eaten since lunch time, midnight." Eliza smirked, hands in her tight jacket pockets.

"Here you go, ma'am. We've got enough seats for everyone." Don brought in a spare ragged chair, pushing one of the better ones towards the woman and took the worse one for him.

"Now, Detective Maza, what can I do for you." Splinter asked genially when their meals were finished, the plates still warm from their breakfast.

"I have been assigned as your sons' night officer. My duty will be to follow them any time they leave their home without notifying me in advanced." She looked the boys over with a sour face. "This is not my idea, I don't like it either. They pulled me from my usual assignment of pulling illegal weapons off the street to keep you four safe. I don't want to become your keeper. So I'll make you a deal, you four call me if you get any leads on the Hunter, otherwise whatever you do at night is between you and your father. Deal?"

"My sons?" Splinter asked, he felt this was the best offer they were going to get for the time being.

"Detective Maza, do you know if there are any others assigned, or volunteering to follow us?" Leo asked calmly, his brown eyes boring into Eliza's black ones, meeting her gaze unblinkingly with the intensity she had only seen before in Goliath's ancient gaze.

"There are five who shadow me, my 'family' if you will. If I'm out, they're out. Otherwise, no." Eliza replied, amazed that she had given in so easily to the teenager's demands. "Leonardo, what do you plan to do in the future?"

Leo paused, looking her over silently, "Detective, my future is already decided. I have trained for it my entire life. I will become the head of the Hamto family and jou-nin, training master, for any future students of our school." Leo replied evenly with a seriousness that terrified Eliza. The boy spoke much like the elders of the Ishimura village she, Goilath, Angela and Bronx had visited years ago. There, she had seen how much tradition and honor filled the Japanese culture, here she found that same intensity – bushido, they called it.

"Is that what you want?" Eliza asked, ready to intervene in any way possible if the boy hesitated in any way.

"Detective, I only have my brothers. Anything they need, want, anything – I want them to have it. Our family has been a long line of one father, one son. I want my brothers to have everything they want. When they are happy I am happy. That is my one desire. To see my brothers live, and be happy with the lives they lead, whatever they do."

Eliza gaped once again. This kid was deep, and the various glances from around the table told her more about this family than she had ever guessed. Raphael was looking at him as if he were an idiot with his head on backwards, a loved idiot, but an idiot just the same. Donatello was smiling hugely, but with a deep worry darkening his eyes. Michaelangelo just grinned, but his nearly blissful happiness seemed to be a mask to Eliza, one even she could not see through. And Kifu, Splinter, had a proud, saddened smile as he ducked his head. This was what they all seemed to want for Leo, even the kid himself. She just hoped none of them regretted that later.

"Well, thank you for breakfast. Goodnight." Eliza said finally and rose from the table, letting herself out the same way she came in.

"Well?" Leo asked Don pointedly.

"It's there, slipped into a seam of her holster. She should never notice it, and it's unmarked so she won't be able to trace it." Don replied evenly and pulled out his PDA, displaying Eliza's movements.

"So, we're bugged by the cops, and Eliza knows where we go, and we've got Eliza bugged so we know where she goes. So, how are we gonna hunt Stockman and Bishop?" Mikey asked around a mouthful of pancake, Raph mildly wondered if that was his seconds, or thirds.

"I've already created false signal generators. We neutralize our devices and do what we need to while our GPS devices give the cops something to watch. Namely working in the garage and practicing in the dojo. During the day our signals will follow us during whatever we need to do, but at night we can be flexible." Don finished his pancakes and turned to his IT nook, taking up his computer skills to search for Bishop.

"I'm goin' ta sniff around the Dragons' lair. See if I can get some info." Raph said finally, "They ain't nevah seen me in my skin, so they'll just see another punk. I'll stay off their turf." Leo nodded accepting Raph's decision. Since the Nightwatcher incident Raph had become more somber, less prone to quips and jokes than he used to be. Yet, he also had better judgment now. As the Nightwatcher he had decimated the Dragon numbers so Hun should be recruiting, and anything they could do to keep kids from going in that direction made them happier.

"I'm going to the comic store!" Mikey called from the garage entry, the family shaking their heads with fond affection for the youngest brother. Mikey would always be the light in their family, even when he didn't feel like it. It was something they were eternally grateful for, and something they felt they did not express their gratitude for often enough. As Mikey left the lair an impish darkness filled his eyes. Yes, he was going to the comic store, where kids ditching school and troubled teens hung out. The small groups of kids either bunched in the comic store itself, in the nearby diner for sodas or in the alleyways. Here, where troubled kids were ripe for the underworld's picking, the youngest turtle found his best artery for intel.

Normally, he had always hunched on a roof overlooking the alleys and stores, or came in on one of the costume days. It usually yielded results back then, but now, he was just another kid – and kids _always_ knew what was on the street. As Mikey moved through the back alleys, kicking old cans and sidestepping junk he listened, spoke to some groups, pointedly avoided others. All the while he internally crowed at his smaller size. Being small, and looking ridiculously young, had its major advantages. He looked twelve, maybe thirteen – not the fifteen his human file said he was or his real age of seventeen. Absently he wondered how he and his brothers had picked that number months ago back in the orphanage and shrugged the question away focusing on his search.

As he moved to his favorite comic shop he paused, pulling his shell cell from a pocket as he leaned against a wall. He loved technology, looking as if he were engrossed with his texting he was free to eaves drop on a rather fascinating conversation.

* * *

><p>Don scoured the net, searching through data servers and governmental agencies for clues as to who had made the mutagen. He was glad to be home today, grateful for the long Thanksgiving weekend for them to be free from college and warmly ensconced in his computer nook instead of outside in the frigid weather with Raph and Mikey. The trail he was searching for was old, over two years had passed since Gen-U-Tek had abandoned their building due to an attempted hostile industrial espionage attempt that had closed their site.<p>

The story had to be rubbish and Don could only scour any available information on what really happened there. Then, he found an interesting image. Gen-U-Tek was a subsidiary of Xanatos Enterprises, which uses a scarab image as their insignia. Don brightened at the image on screen. Raphael had found an ink pen with the same insignia at Gen-U-Tek when they had collected the discarded machinery they had left behind.

"Hm, Gen-U-Tek's lead researcher was Doctor Anton Sevarious, but he died in an accident on site." Don glared at the screen; there was no documentation of a death. No death certificate, no coroner's report. The police hadn't even been called during the attack/accident. This was not adding up.

He turned his search to Xanatos industries itself, hacking into the surprisingly well protected server after several tries and no few failures. He found something that read more like a science fiction novel than a major international industry. Nanotechnology, human mutations, gargoyle cloning, robotics; the list of Xanatos enterprises' research areas went on.

Donny mused with a slight grin, it was almost as fantastic as his family's life. However after human testing that developed a quartet of rogue mutants called the Mutates, Sevarious ceased to be a Xanatos employee. There were records of the rogue doctor being hired by someone called Thilog, then for Cyberbiotics. Each reference showed a decreased character of the doctor, making him sound disturbingly similar to Doctor Baxter Stockman.

"If the Gargoyles had any encounters with Sevarious leading up to their cloning, they might have an idea on how to track him." Don mulled his information over pensively. Thus far Sevarious remained completely off the digital radar, none having any records of him in the last two years.

* * *

><p>Finals week, Raph's brain was killing him. The entire college campus had become something of a bipolar party. Everyone was alternately hitting the books, or hitting the booze. Parties were listed nightly and in every class and even in ROTC, his classmates kept asking him to join. Oh, it was tempting. He'd gotten his first taste of alcohol while raiding Casey's fridge some six years ago while the other man was out of town.<p>

While Raph had never become an alcoholic there were a few times when he came close. He still kept a small stash of beer under his weight rack in his room. Normally he didn't touch the stuff, but there were days, especially like this one where the tests were so damned difficult and the finals in ROTC were so frustrating that he longed for the unraveling sensation that a few beers imparted.

"Yo, Hamato, you coming to Theta Delta tonight? They've got the girls from Lambda Lambda Phi coming over." Raph looked up at Rodney, the jock-head was in his calculus class right before lunch, and somehow the guy always came in smelling of Negro Modelo. It only pissed him off more that the guy got straight Bs on all his tests while Raph struggled between Bs and Cs.

"Nah, can't" Raph replied, tonight he and his brothers were hunting the rooftops, after nearly a month of dead ends and cold trails Donny had finally found something that might give them an in with Xanatos. "Got a killer gig tonight," Raph grinned darkly loving the way the taller jock blanched at his expression.

"Oh, uh that's cool. Well, uh, see you tomorrow?" The white boy turned and jogged away, looking back over his shoulder nervously before rejoining his small band of cronies. Raph hated those guys, and hated that they seemed to think he was just like them.

* * *

><p>Raph hunched over the ledge of the building's rooftop, glaring into the darkness above the abandoned storage facility along the first generation subway line. These tracks had been carved by hand, drug in by horse teams and finished by steam engines. These tunnels had been abandoned by the nineteen-fifties. He sighed, wishing that he and his brothers had taken a chance to explore the tunnels Master Splinter had deemed too unsteady for them back when they were little.<p>

"They're too dangerous, what a croc." Raph groused. The last few nights had been frustrating for the brothers and likewise for Eliza. They blocked their signals, sending her on wild goose chases around various parts of town far enough away to keep her out of the action and still have her search the areas the Hunter was most likely to attack. Tonight, however, the brothers had decided to follow Eliza instead.

She had come down here on her night off, her partner, Bluestone, taking his turn at chasing electronic shadows. Below the sheltered building on which Raph hunched, homeless people, men, women, children, families all came and went from a forced open doorway, old scratch marks crisscrossed the smooth metal surface of strong metal doors that looked like reinforced steel. Years of rain and rust had made the scratches into bloody streaks across the darkened metal. In the bustling crowd his brothers guised with their holograms walked among the human population.

Raph hunched lower as a random, freezing breeze blew over his dark green, pebbled skin. He preferred being a turtle to being human; he had missed the harsh skin and rough shell during their time trapped as humans. Leatherhead's holograms kept improving, making them feel, sound, _smell_ human, even to dogs. It seemed that they had upgrades to their emitters on a daily basis, and it only made the transition from turtle to human more grating.

Finally the one person he had never expected to show up on his watch appeared, and Raph grinned darkly. "Hun" he rumbled with a snarl. Raph crackled his knuckles and began to scale down the building when he heard a wild cat's snarl of rage. From the building Purple Dragon cronies boiled out, numbering only in a handful – a light night for the big guy – Hun was still hurting from the Nightwatcher cleaning up the hood.

"Damn, an' here I thought this was gonna have a challenge." Raph growled and opened his shell cell to notify Leo of his next actions. He paused, cell inches from his ear when four bat-winged cat creatures chased the last of the dragons out of their underground home, followed by five dark skinned, crimson eyed monsters that looked like the Gargoyles they had helped on the docks a last month.

The nine non-humans snarled their rage standing between the Dragons and the homeless rabble they protected. Nearby Eliza stood tense and ready, hand hovering over her gun holster as she waited to intervene if things got too rough.

With Eliza on the sidelines ready to step in and act as a police presence the cat monsters and dark gargoyles attacked the Purple Dragons, leaving the homeless masses behind them unprotected. In that instant Raph tensed as the far too familiar feted stench of the Hunter tickled his beak. He growled lowly, thumbing his holo-emitter on and leapt silently across the open expanse between building and shelter slipping down the leeward side of the metal structure the squatters called home and slipped inside.

Dozens of humans cowered against a far wall, sheltered from the fight. Children hid behind the adults and small animals cowered at the childrens' feet. Raph slipped beside a massive pillar by the door looking through the cluttered interior for any sign of the monster and tensed when he noticed a lone figure hiding beneath one of the narrow metal framed cots lining the wall. Then he saw a flash of blue and knew the Hunter had found his prey. Raph bolted towards the figure aiming for the blue monster that had haunted their lives for too long and roared a battle cry to draw the creature's attention away from the small figure beneath the bed.

He was too late. The Hunter was just touching a young woman. Raph thumbed his cell, tripping the beacon Don had recently installed showing he was facing the Hunter. With a snarl Raph charged the best slashing to get it away from the slumping pale form of the woman. He charged with sai flashing, smirking in triumph at the foul stench of drawn blood accompanied with a bestial, inhuman scream of rage. The creature roared and vanished as it always did, only this time it came back.

At the entrance his brothers dashed in, bypassing the Purple Dragons and the strange non-humans they battled outside. As they entered the Hunter appeared before them reaching taloned fingers for Mikey. Leo and Don leapt for the beast, Raph raced to back them up watching as the Hunter clawed at Mikey sending the smallest of the turtles backwards into the thick plate steel wall and slump bonelessly to the ground as thick swatch of blood smearing along the wall as he went down.

Screaming in horror and fury Leo and Don redoubled their efforts against the Hunter, drawing blood and chasing it once more away.

"Mikey!" Raph bellowed when his little brother failed to stand up. He collapsed to his knees beside the fallen figure of his brother, gently touching the motionless shoulder. "Leo?" Raph looked up at his brother asking wordlessly for permission to break their one new rule.

"Do it Raph, we don't have a choice." Leo ordered as he and Don knelt at their brothers' side. Raph reached to Mikey's belt, flicking off the holo-emitter, and flicked off his own. If anyone was going to target Mikey for being a monster they would have to go through him first.

"Jalapena! They're the Hamatos!" Angela gasped in amazement as she stepped from a nearby pillar folding her massive wings behind her as the cat creatures followed her in. The Dragons temporarily chased away peace once more fell over the hidden refuge. "Talon, please have your people stand down. These are the creatures that saved my life."

"Were you mutated by Sevarious too?" Talon demanded harshly, the black panther with dark purple wings asked as he scrutinized Raphael.

"Nevah hear of him. Guess he did that to you?" Raph demanded. Talon nodded as he clenched his clawed fists in impotent rage and fury.

"We have been monsters for the last few years, forced to live in isolation due to his handiwork." Standing closer to seven feet Talon was an impressive figure, nearly as tall as the gargoyle Angela,

"Raph, these guys were humans." Don spoke up as he worked over Mikey, checking their youngest brother for serious wounds and finding only a concussion.

"Which means this Sevarious knows 'bout mutagens!" Raph breathed, looking at Leo in shock.

"So now we have confirmation on whom the third person was." Leo mused. "Stockman made the robotic spiders and probably the silk as well. Bishop funded the project and Sevarious made the secondary mutagen. It looks like we finally know who _we're _hunting now."

"Wait, what 'secondary' mutagen?" Brooklyn demanded, eyes glowing angrily.

"Dude, we didn't make human holograms for the fun of it." Mikey replied with a groan as from the floor, "We were forced to when we were _re-mutated_ into humans. We started as pet turtles, and then got mutated into these perfect forms before you. Then we got turned into humans. Dude, no offense but given the choice between being human or a turtle, being a turtle wins out hands down!"

"Mikey," Raph growled warningly earning himself an innocent look from his brother, marred only by the uneven pupils. "Dufus, don't be a clown when you've got a concussion. You'll make it worse, and I ain't haulin' yer sorry shell across Manhattan to the lair either."

"Dude, you know you love your little brother. You just can't admit it." Mikey quipped as he leaned back holding his head with a groan. "Dude, being a gargoyle on the other hand sounds kinda nice 'bout now. One stone sleep and all better."

"It is not quite that easy." Goliath spoke from the doorway, "Who were the thugs that attempted to infiltrate your home?" He asked of Talon.

Talon shook his head, "I don't know, I've never seen them before."

"They're the Purple Dragon, the big guy is Hun, their leader. He was probably trying to recruit from the homeless here to enlarge his operation." Leo looked to the two winged males, "We've been fighting him and his goons for the last five years. He took a hit on his workforce during the Nightwatcher's reign."

"But, you're only fifteen, have you been fighting these guys all by yourselves the entire time?" Eliza asked aghast.

"We're ninja, we make do." Raph replied helping Mikey to his feet.

"Then we will help you," Goliath spoke up, "Eliza Xanatos may know the whereabouts of Sevarious, could you make an inquiry?"

"Sure, if he's involved in this in any way, I want to know about it." Eliza snarled.

"Then you might want to come with us." Don interrupted. "We found an abandoned super computer from Gen-U-Tek in the lab the Mutates were created in. I traced several files on the Xanatos server to one that explained our secondary mutation and using their machinery we created a counter mutagen to restore us back to being turtles." Don filled in.

"Really?" Eliza asked, "Come on, I'll give you a ride." Mikey and Don rode with Eliza, their reasons for all four of them not coming became clear as the two smallest brothers sat in her car making the frame drop dangerously low to the ground.

"Turtle shells are heavy." Don said as explanation and looked pointedly to Raph's retreating shell. Eliza had never thought about it, but looking now Raph's shell was nearly the size of Lexington when he hunched in his unique way. The conversation though, was disturbing. Donatello was talking of being a turtle yet Eliza was looking at a teenage human boy.

"Sounds like it." She replied flatly, starting the car and driving to the Hamato home. Overhead Leo and Raph bounded across the skyline jumping and flipping as they went. Higher in the sky Talon, Maggie, Angela and Goliath flew through the air, each watching in fascination as the brothers seemed to dance across the skyline.

* * *

><p>"I would be terrified to be up that high without wings." Angela shuddered as she watched the shelled pair below.<p>

"They have adapted to what their lives have given them. For that they are truly brave." Goliath replied before descending to the roof that Eliza had parked by. Leo and Raph landed on the roof beside them in silence bounding in spinning leaps from the top of the two story structure to the ground below. "Impressive."

"Come on, this way." Leo summoned the group through the open garage. The brothers led their guests below, "Master Splinter, we have guests." Goliath felt his shoulders tense, the one they called their father was a rat. He swallowed uncomfortably. He was not afraid of rats, not at all. He just couldn't stand them.

"Your sons saved my daughter's life, for that you family has earned my gratitude." Goliath nodded his thanks to the diminutive rat, hiding a shudder of repulsion.

"And your daughter enabled my sons' escape that night. Her incantation slowed the Hunter. I believe our families have been aiding each other." Splinter replied with a bow. "Now, my sons, why do we have so many guests in our home this night?"

"We found a lead on Sevarious." Don replied anxiously leading their guests down to his lab and all the machinery they had collected over the years.

"You do know that most of this stuff is illegal." Eliza spoke as they entered.

"Its bettah in our hands an' not in the Foot Clans or worse." Raph replied.

"You have a train?" Goliath asked looking at the research car.

"Uh, yeah, that was taken from Special Agent Bishop on one of the last attempts he made to dissect us." Don replied absently as he pulled up the files he found. Behind the turtles the gargoyles stared in horror. They spoke so easily of being nearly dissected, their words making it sound more like a regular occurrence.

"These aren't Xanatos files. These are Sevarus'. If you can trace the signal from this server to a physical location we can get him." Lexington spoke as he studied the familiar files that detailed their cloning for the first clone, Thalog.

"That's the problem" Don replied, "This remote hard drive is located in Xanatos tower."

* * *

><p>They waited. Winter break had come and gone, the brothers spending more time on the rooftops and streets as they searched for clues. The Xanatos lead had bottomed out, and the billionaire had hired a team of cyber investigators to locate Sevarious when even Don continually ran into dead ends. NYC still had its crime, still had its cops who tried to be everywhere at once, and still had the Hunter culling their population at random.<p>

"Guys," Leo called them together in the lair, "We need to be able to carry our weapons in daylight, topside as humans. I don't want to be without them and have the Hunter catch us again. We've been lucky so far."

"And Turtle luck nevah holds out. Okay, so what ya thinking?" Raph asked.

"Actually Mikey came up with the idea." Don smiled, "We join a martial arts club on campus. They have bamboo and wooden practice blades. We just carry our own weapons in similar cases designed for easy access and line them with EMF shielding fabric to bypass security checks."

"Dudes, it'll be cool. I mean we've got all our other stuff down pact, what's one more little club?" Mikey grinned impishly.

* * *

><p>"What's one more little club? Mikey, yer an idiot." Raph groused as they sat in the school gym one week later. Two dozen or so students all waited as they were individually tested in their martial arts competency to determine who got into the restricted membership club and who scrubbed. So far nineteen had gone, the twentieth was up and none posed even a slight challenge to the club captain, or the watching brothers.<p>

Most were kung-fu fan boys reciting by rote the various kicks and punches used in which movie, who could beat who in the make believe world of cinema. Mikey had had a blast while they waited, mocking most due to his greater than healthy mental library of movies. Others had been true martial arts enthusiasts. They practiced and loved the art within martial arts, but lacked the skill level. Leo had enjoyed talking with some of them. Others were just curious; they had dabbled and thought to put it to good use.

The last guy finished getting his ass handed to him by the team captain who accessed who joined and who didn't then they called on Raphael. Most of the larger guys who had gone before had been either pitifully clumsy or they had some skill but were slow. As Raph took the mat most of the fan boys in the audience jeered, figuring that big meant slow especially with Raph's heavily muscled build.

Like the others before him the team captain called out a series of moves, Raph performed flawlessly. He was asked to perform some simple flips, some less common maneuvers, Raph didn't break a sweat. As the testing progressed the captain's face brightened, unlike all the other potential candidates, Raph never balked. Then came the sparring match. Raph went light on the captain, had him circling for three or four minutes before he put the older man on the ground.

"Excellent! All you hopefuls out there, this guy is the real deal. He's not even sweating." The man praised as he stood with a massive grin.

Raph smirked, shook the other guy's hand and returned to sit with his brothers as Don took his place. As their brainy brother moved around the mat Leo pointed off to a far door. Master Splinter in human guise had just walked in. Their sensei moved silently to the registration table, speaking silently with the club's leaders waiting for the testing to complete before stepping back. Shortly thereafter Donatello put his sparring partner on the ground.

Leo smiled approvingly at the raised voices who couldn't believe the quiet book worm they had completely overlooked had bested all of them. Then it was Mikey's turn. The crowd watching booed as Mikey outmaneuvered his sparring partner complete with silly antics and showy hand stands. Behind the mat Master Splinter scowled. "I don't think Mikey will be enjoying our next training session."

Raph smiled at Leo, "Not if Splinta leads." Mikey finally shook his sparring partner's hand and returned to the waiting crowd. Then Leo descended. Throughout his entire testing no one spoke, all the fan boys stared enraptured at Leo's fluid grace and shifting form. The sparring bout was laughable, Leo fluidly putting his partner into the dust effortlessly. With a final bow and a handshake the bout was over, and the hopefuls surged to their feet in applause.

"Splinta junior." Raph taunted lightly once Leo returned to his seat, earning a small grin as they both remembered a time that ridiculous name had led into worse words exchanged and normally fighting between them.

"Alright, alright, everyone settle down. This club is active in competitions, and for that reason we need members who know what they are doing. Due to their technical skill, clean form, competency and level of respect in the ring we'll be taking the following six as members." The man read off six names, Leo and his brothers at the top of the list.

"And who are you?" He finally turned to Splinter after one of the women behind the registration table pointed out the diminutive Asian man.

"I am called Splinter, my martial arts school is opening in mid-town. Any of your members or those interested in learning martial arts, or seeing to improve their current skill level would be most welcome." Splinter spoke with a bow.

"And what kind of martial arts do you teach?" the team captain asked with a disbelieving grin at the small man.

"Ninjutsu, mostly." Splinter smiled nostalgically, "Although my sons have challenged me constantly in their training and I have branched out into several styles."

"Uh huh, care to put words into action?" The team captain asked with a belittling stare.

"Please," Splinter replied warmly, leaning heavier than usual on his stick. Once in the ring Splinter set his walking stick aside, limping to the mat center. With a slight bow the match began. And, ended immediately. The team captain on his back completely stunned at his swift defeat at an old man who barely reached his chest.

"How did you do that?"

"The style was Wing Chung. As I said, my sons challenged me in their training, and when one school of training was exhausted I had to instill within them another." Splinter smiled kindly offering a hand to the larger man.

"Well, it looks like we have our first martial arts school partner. Thank you for coming to us." The captain paused, "By the way, who are your sons?"

Splinter gestured with his hand open, palm up towards the four brothers sitting in the bleachers, the youngest waiving manically at their father. The man simply shook his head and chuckled. This promised to be a very interesting semester.

The rest of the meeting set up a schedule as to when they would meet, practice dates and locations, which turned out to be Splinter's dojo twice a week. When they finally let out the brothers took their Splinter out to dinner and home.

"Man, I'm jealous." The captain sighed, "Their father is a master."


	6. Reclamation, part 3

**A/N: **Slight crossover with Gargoyles and FAKE. Mentions of death.

* * *

><p>"Damn!" Raph screamed into the darkness, his voice sending a plume of fog into the early April night. Sai clenched in pale knuckled fists as blood oozed from a bullet graze on his shoulder courtesy of their night guard, Eliza Maza. The Hunter had struck again, this time targeting Donny then using them as cover until it could slip away in the confusion and take an innocent six year-old girl. From the empty street behind the alley he hunched in the mother's sobs clearly echoed her grief.<p>

The brothers had been close to killing the Hunter. So close that Raph could still feel the monster's too dark blood running slick across his hands staining everything the unusual deep purple He could still smell the pungent stnech of the beast's blood and hear it drip off the sharp tines of his sai. The sounds and scents of the beast plagued him and he thrust them from his mind. He paced and snarled, seethed as he waited for his brothers to catch up. Another wail of grief reached his ears. Raph could only rage in silence and throwing his sai into the far brick wall of the alley, cracking the brick with their force as he raged in silence.

"Are you okay Raph?" Don asked gingerly, uncertain if his brother was safe to approach yet or not, and slightly disturbed that he still could not read human-Raph after nearly seven months of bearing the human guise.

Raph turned on the voice behind him with a feral snarl, "Do I look _alright_ to you, Brainiac? You think I should start singin' Kumbya an holdin' hands wid the world? We missed him Don, _I _missed. He should'a been skewered an' then he was gone. He killed a kid!" His eyes flickered past Don as he roared with fury watching Don flinch at the thrown words and Leo scowled furiously for his outburst but Raph was too furious to care. Fury at the monster, fury at Eliza for shooting at it, her bullet passed through the beast and grazed Raph's shoulder before the Hunter had flickered out of sight. Then, Raph saw Mikey flinch from him, from his anger and bad memories surfaced suddenly deflating his tirade.

"You got attacked, you chased the monster but missed, and now you're blaming _us_?" Mikey yelled once Raph fell silent. "What are we supposed to do Raph? Let you go play Nightwatcher again while we _know_ you're out here alone without support? We came after you once we knew Don was alive. We've been trailing you for hours all over town. And now you want to blame _us_ for the cop nearly shooting you because she couldn't see the Hunter?"

"No," Raph ground out as he slid to the ground, head hanging in defeat as he thumbed his holo-emitter off. "I'm just tired. We're three weeks out from summer break an' the Hunta's back to snacking on innocents. It feels like we've – like _I've_ failed 'em."

The brothers fell silent as they secreted away their weapons hiding them into kendo cases designed to match their weapons. Don moved to Raph's shoulder, deftly cleansing the wound and binding it.

"Thanks, bro." Raph ground out, eyes dark and filled with the fury he would now only unleash on his punching bag or the next bad guy to rear his head. Don smiled then flicked his holo emitter back on. With their disguises as humans back in place they could once more walk the streets armed and no one noticed. It made their hunt for the Hunter easier, or it should have. With Xanatos still hunting Sevarious, no leads on Stockman or Bishop, the Gargoyles, Mutates and the NYPD all looking for the Hunter they were chasing shadows.

"Raph," Leo sighed rubbing his brow as Donny packed away his first aid kit. "You don't have to go to the next competition. You've only got a week and that won't heal by then."

"I know, but if I back out now I lose the finalist position. You were taken out by a low blow, Mikey was sick on his match up, Donny had to bow out when we thought we had Sevarious and now I'm the only one left. The rest of our team was beaten by the better teams so there's only me if we want to be welcomed back next semester to keep up this charade." Raph replied tiredly.

Between classes, their martial arts club, Raph's ROTC, Splinter's hours as the human martial arts master with twenty students, their search for their enemies and homework the brothers were just doing too much. They needed a break, but none ever came. "Come on Raph, let's call it a night." The brothers walked home, tired and ready for the Hunter to just die already.

Splinter was up early the next morning, the family in the sewer lair without their holograms allowing them all to rest. Raphael had already left for ROTC but would be back soon and then they could have their Saturday as a homework and rest day. He sighed, and wondered when it would dawn on his sons that they could, or rather should, quit the human school. They were weary, and needed to focus on their training, but Leonardo had never been more focused and Raphael more stable. With his hot tea and some miso broth Splinter moved to sit at the breakfast table when their phone rang.

"Hello." Splinter listened on the line, eyes widening at what he heard.

"I will let them know, thank you, Detective McClain."

"Master Splinter?" Leo asked from the hall as the phone clicked on its cradle. Splinter looked to his eldest son and found all four crowded together, waiting in tense silence to face the next Hunter attack.

"That was Detective McClain," Splinter swallowed and blinked, "He, Detective Laytner and Detective Maza are heading to Japan. The hunter struck there early this morning."

"You – but how? It's a nineteen hour flight." Leo asked aghast, remembering Raph's nearly successful attempt on the Hunter's life only six hours previous.

"Dude, it vanishes? Guess it got tired of getting its shell handed to it." Mikey yawned tiredly, hiding the shell shock that made him feel numb and strangely cheated of witnessing Raph to be the one with the hunter's head on their wall.

"Leo, think of it this way. If we don't have to watch our shells every second of the day for the Hunter we can completely focus on Bishop, Stockman and Sevarious." Don replied, pouring cereal and coffee at the same time and constantly checking that each went into their own container.

"I understand, it's just – sudden." Leo paused pensively, "I don't like it. I mean we finally get to a point where we can almost kill it and we're out of the picture."

"Do we even know if it _is_ the Hunter and not some copycat?" Mikey asked pensively. "I mean the media's been forecasting something like this since the second murder."

"We can't know yet Mike," Don replied softly as he sat with his breakfast and sighed, "We'll just have to keep watching for it to come back."

"My sons, regardless this has given you the opportunity to complete your more important tasks. That creature had to come from somewhere." Splinter spoke calmly, sending chills down his sons' spines.

"Yeah, like a sick combination of gargoyle, mutate, and turtle." Mikey shuddered.

"Precisely," Splinter nodded and Leo knew they had to stop the mad scientists who had made their lives miserable for far too long.

* * *

><p>"Attention!" Epps bellowed into the still cool spring morning. Before him his ROTC unit stood abreast in formation, each damp with sweat and all glowing with that healthy tiredness. "You all have done well so far. Today we start out next step in training; today we start basic hand-to-hand combat. Now, some of you have done the whole self defense or martial arts stuff. Right now I need you to forget everything you thought you knew. What I am teaching you is the basics for more advanced maneuvers you will be learning later. Right now we will be working on basic moves and conservation of motion."<p>

Raph perked up at the mention of combat, this was something different and he always loved a challenge. As he listened his shoulder gave a twinge, and he just hoped he wouldn't tear the bullet scrape from yesterday. The group of recruits split into pairs, each pair miming the moves to learn them before actually using the maneuvers. Raph almost laughed, this was a child's exercise. However he dutifully kept to the repeat practice, somewhat alarmed as his partner grew more and more tired as they progressed.

"Man," a girl called Saunders gasped, "How can you keep doing this?"

Raph blinked at her panted words and glanced around, noticing that most of the other recruits were showing signs of strain as well, only two others were as rested as Raph was, "I haven't had this easy a trainin' session since I was little." He shrugged as he moved, repeating their current maneuver until it was instinct.

The remainder of their training day continued in that fashion until Epps called the day complete. "So, you think my style is easy?" Epps asked Raph with a smirk.

"Well, it is. I've been doin' this kinda stuff my whole life. These katas, we use em to de-stress. It ain't work fer me, sir" Raph replied easily, "Though I gotta give 'em props." He nodded towards the other recruits, "Mikey complains any time we gotta do sommthin like this fer new maneuvers."

Epps laughed, "I can actually believe that."

"Hamato." The two black men turned to see Officer Nanashi approaching; Epps pushed Raph in the officer's direction letting the teen talk alone.

"What's up?" Raph asked feeling nervous.

"There are some things money can't buy." Nanashi shoved a bit of paper into Raph's hand and walked away, GPS monitor in hand.

Raph looked at the paper, swallowing uncomfortably as several dried red spatters that marred the white surface. Someone had probably died for this. Unfolding it he found three addresses, all in the Tri-State area. "Thanks, Nobody." He whispered into the silent air, it was time to get this home to Don and Leo.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Don, Mikey, Leo! Got news." Raph bellowed into the lair summoning his family to their entertainment collection.<p>

"So do we, Raph, the Hunter is targeting Japan." Leo spoke tensely, making Raph pause as he threw down his gym bag.

"Then I hope they catch him over there." Raph looked to his brother, "Nobody found them." He held up the blood spattered paper grimly. "And they're close."

"Don, contact Bluestone; Mikey get a call out to the Gargoyles and the Mutates. This will be a three pronged attack, and it will happen all at once." Leo ordered, looking from Raph to Don. "We'll have to set this up exactly, and ensure that all three are hit simultaneously. We can expect guards and they may have hired Karai for protection."

"Leo, we can't take 'em in, we've been soft too long. They gotta go down this time, permanently." Raph warned, eyes dark.

"I know." Leo replied and swallowed darkly; hating the thought that he would cause the deaths of others – and sorrowed that he would be ordering Mikey and Don to kill.

* * *

><p>No one knew what triggered it. The cause would be uncovered long after anyone ceased to care. Jersey City was in flames. The glimmering city now cast a crimson hue across the river, feeding fears that somehow the flame would reach New York. Licking tongues of destruction reached dozens of feet into the air highlighting the many flying bodies overhead that sought to quench the flames. The Justice Force had volunteered to help. Every member was there, in New Jersey and unable to help anyone else.<p>

Mikey and Don drove past the off ramp to Jersey City, skirting the conflagration like so many other drivers on the crowded streets. They turned off on US 22, skirting west and south to Westfield, and the address that supposedly housed Anton Sevarius.

"Why did we do this?" Mikey asked as they parked their van down a side street near the Sevarius location.

"Do what precisely?" Don asked absently as he set up a thermal scan of the area.

"Dude, there's two of us against a simple doctor with no history of special powers."

"Raphael was nearly dissected alive by a deranged cult leader with nothing more than a few knives and some cyanide." Don looked at Mikey, "We don't know who this guy is, or what he can do. The only thing we do know is what he is scientifically capable of."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed silently, thoughts sliding towards the catalogue of horrors the scientist had created through genetic manipulation. The pair slipped out of the Battle Shell and vanished into the shadows, thumbing off their holograms as they moved.

"All set out here." Don spoke into his headset, he and Mikey now hidden within the night darkened property of the rogue scientist.

* * *

><p>Leonardo grimaced as he shifted along the steeply slanting roof; all the cops in New York seemed to have been called out as the long siege from the Hunter reached a breaking point. Despite the Hunter having fled to Japan the press had not been told. Now, the city seemed to have gone mad, small crimes, assaults and drive by shootings had escalated and all the precincts in NYC were on high alert. The city would have to rely on their police this night, Leo and his brothers had bigger targets.<p>

Beside him Master Splinter crept on four paws stealthily creeping along the warehouse roof that currently housed the macabre experiments of Doctor Baxter Stockman. The warehouse was merely a front, one designed to blend in with the warehouse properties along the south East River. Finally they reached the apex of the roof and a small access hatch. Slipping the bolt, they checked for trip wires then slipped eel-like through the small hatch landing silently on the high catwalk.

The ground floor of the warehouse continued the facade of normalcy. Massive crates labeled with motor parts and massive drums of oil littered the floor, and successfully hid the staircase from ground level prying eyes. From the roof though, Leo spotted the secluded stack of crates that made a perfect screen to hide a side door. He and Splinter slipped across the tops of the crates and landed lightly just before the door.

Moving like wraiths they slipped through the door and down a stairwell, slipped through a floor level access hatch in the first basement level and waited just within the first anteroom below ground. They scouted the small chamber, locating Baxter's position with the thermal camera Donny had provided them they settled down to wait. "We're ready."

* * *

><p>Raph scowled as he rode his motorbike through the abandoned business park. This strange section of Connecticut near the New York border had been abandoned for longer than anyone could remember, but the power company still registered energy drawing from this area. Raph shuddered, knowing that Bishop was using this as his new base. Memories of being Bishop's prisoner, fighting beside him to battle the demon shredder, working with him in the improbable future they had been lost in for a year. Now, back with their original Bishop Raph moved in silently while praying that killing the madman would not destroy their chances of a decent future.<p>

The decrepit buildings he approached brought back disturbing memories of a crumbling ruin filled with rats – and a slowly degrading psychopath. The stench of diseased flesh rotting off the bone still haunted his memories along with the madness resounding in all too familiar eyes. The eyes that matched Bishop's perfectly. The memory of Bishop's failed clone faded, leaving Raph feeling edgy in the orange hued night, stained like sunlight through blood from the distant Jersey fires.

Raph moved slowly, letting the tight material of his Nightwatcher suit shift noiselessly as he moved in. Around him a barely perceptible crimson glow brightened the darkness, the stripes on his shoulders and arms powered down to near below visible spectrum. The helmet compensated, letting him see in pitch blackness without lights. It was a marked improvement from Raph's first attempts. The headlights on the helmet had given him away more than once during his ill-planned forays as the Nightwatcher.

The red outlined figure slipped in through the ductwork, moving silently until he reached the last junction left in darkness before the first rays of light filled the inky blackness. "In position."

* * *

><p>Leonardo signaled their missions to begin and followed silently after Splinter as they slithered into the night darkened room that held Stockman. So many memories filled the father and son as they slipped further into the labyrinth. So many times they had come to rescue each other from this mad-man, to stop the mousers and the many other adventures that had defined their lives for so long.<p>

"I can't," Leo paused with a sigh. He had killed enough in South America. The deaths were few but still others had died by his blade. "I can't kill him."

Splinter sighed a small relived breath, "That is good, my son. We will destroy his laboratory and know that he will not be active for quite some time." They turned up a different corridor, slipped into the air vents and began the sabotaging of the laboratory. s they moved, setting explosives to decimate the work ares the distant heat signature resolved itself into a simple generator, the scientist nowhere in sight.

* * *

><p>Don watched the house after the order was given, and saw only a lone cat's image heating the area. Their target was not at home. "Come on, we can at least check out this psycho." Together the brothers slipped inside, finding nothing more than an abandoned rental home with a broken window and a visiting cat. Nobody had been duped or – Don looked out the widow, eyes widening as he realized the implication. "We have to get everyone back to the lair! Bishop probably started the fires and initiated the violence in New York. This is a cover-up."<p>

"Uh, dude, I think we're too late." Mike whispered, pointing towards a sudden plume of fire from Leo's position.

"Oh shell." Don whirled, grabbing Mikey as they raced out the house and back to the waiting van, knowing they had to save Leo and Master Splinter from the trap Bishop had set.

* * *

><p>Raph rumbled silently as he finally found his quarry. Only his mark was not alone. Bishop stood in the middle of a vast hall speaking lowly to three men in suits wearing bizarre masks of gold. Bishop gestured to a screen off to the side, out of Raph's line of sight as the masked men nodded, their muffled voices speaking in turn. Whatever was going on, it was big. And Raph didn't dare summon his brothers. He shut his shell cell off for security and slipped further into the shadows.<p>

With a mental curse Raph found himself directly behind Stockman, and within striking distance of a strange man with red hair, one who matched Xanatos' picture of Dr. Sevarious. All three were here, meaning his family were out chasing shadows. Raph wanted to curse, but this saved his family from staining their hands. He didn't have a problem with this.

Glaring through the dark visor of his Nightwatcher suit Raph placed a small explosive behind the scientists and slipped further into the complex, leaving several other surprises behind. As he moved images of another dark hallway overlaid themselves in his mind. Walking through the office complex of Black Rose Industries for Jar had felt much like this, only then he had had the silent boy with golden eyes watching his back.

Raph banished the thoughts, forcing himself to keep focused on this moment and everything around him. He could not get lost in memories or the uncomfortable realization that he had loved and lost less than one year ago. It felt like a lifetime. Shrugging the thought away Raph slipped out a rear vent on the building and raced to his bike hoping to get out of Dodge before everything blew.

Raph never noticed the massive winged frame landing on the roof he had just vacated, nor saw the many figures fleeing out the other side of the building just before it exploded. Raph never noticed and only cared to get home, heart heavy with bittersweet memories and his hands heavy with blood.

Raph pulled into the street level garage, grateful to see his brothers still wearing their holo emitters tinkering with the various vehicles he and Don repaired on the side for money. "Yo," Raph greeted, as he stepped off his bike, discretely thumbing on his emitter before removing his helmet. "Nice hunting?"

"Nah, it was a bust. House was empty." Mikey shrugged absently then looked to Leo, his words easy despite the still pounding adrenaline based fear in his veins that he had almost lost his eldest brother and father.

"We destroyed Stockman's lab, but no one was home." Leo filled in, absently musing on how the word 'nobody' had seemed to slip from their vocabulary since meeting the dark hero by that name. He left out Don's frantic face as the Battle Shell had pulled up just before they left the vicinity. He kept secret Mike's terrified eyes and desperate relife when Master Splinter had led them from the shadows of the destroyed laboratory.

"They're dead." Raph spoke evenly, "They was havin' a shindig ovah at my spot. The place is in ruins." Raph paused, "But there was these three weird dudes, had these masks." Raph pulled the on-board camera from his suit and handed the module to Donny. "Look fer the gold faces." Raph kept quiet about the unnerving sensation of being watched as he raced from the building as it exploded or the tremor of dread that still tingled along his shell. Despite feeling confident that this was over, their enemies had seemingly come back from the dead too many times for him to believe it.

"Then we wait," Leo sighed, "We will know soon enough if all of them were killed in the explosion." Raph silently smirked at his brother speaking his thoughts.

"My sons," Splinter's voice rose from the hidden sewer entrance, "Come see the news."

Together the brothers moved into the lair, all watching Raph closely and borderline panicking that he seemed to not care that he had taken _lives._ After the death of Winters Raph had been different, remorseful and sullen often staring at his punching bag instead of using it. Now though, he seemed nonchalant, as if the taking of lives no longer bothered him, and all his brothers were worried.

Finally in their entertainment room the news recounted the many fires and explosions in the area. Between the fires in New Jersey, the crime spree throughout Manhattan Island and the explosions around the tri-state region, emergency crews were barely able to keep up. Raph smirked as the reporter spoke, "It could be weeks before an official report can be released regarding these incidents. As for the unexplained explosions though the tri-state area, it could be even longer to know if anyone was inside the now destroyed locations."

Leo sighed then looked to his family, "Raph, get some rest. We have that competition coming up." Mikey and Don scowled, upset that they could not be part of the martial arts competition, but knowing this, at least would give them the time to finish up their swiftly approaching due dates for final assignments.

"Yeah, sure fearless," Raph yawned, "Guess we just reclaimed a bit of normalcy. What a way to knock out a Saturday night."

The turtles muttered their agreements before heading off to their studies or bed, wishing their Master good night until Splinter was left alone in the darkened sewer. The aged rat looked to the far wall, hung heavily with mementos of past escapades. "Master Yoshi, did the world seem so strange and overwhelming to you when you fought for the Utroms and faced the Shredder? I feel tired for my sons, as I know they do not have the time they need to rest as they should." Splinter stood from his favorite chair and walked with his slow limp to the new garden they had built during his sons' winter break near the lair's lagoon. Here they had brought down dirt and soil while Donatello had installed special lamps he called UV lights. The garden was small still, only a few soy beans and eggplants thriving in their underground oasis.

Splinter preferred to be underground when time allowed, only down here could he truly feel warm during the bitterly cold winters. "I better be careful what I wish for, this summer could be a hot one." With a final, soft chuckle Splinter checked his garden one final time, grateful for the irrigation his sons had installed for him as well as the automatic timer on the lamps. Then he turned and headed for his room grateful for the silence and the security of being below thick earth and concrete.

* * *

><p>"Hey Hamato," Raph grimaced at the smug voice calling his name and turned to look at the boy sitting behind him in his math class.<p>

"What d'ya want McCarron?" Raph asked roughly, hoping the rising star freshman quarterback would just shut up and go away.

"Heard you've got a competition tonight, going to all Jackie Chan on everyone?" The smug jock ducked and wove in his seat, hands stiff and straight as if wanting to break his hand on a pile of bricks. Surrounding him several cronies laughed, enjoying mocking the kid who had stolen McCarron's spotlight when his win at the last competition won over McCarron's football victory in the school paper.

"Jackie Chan is Kung-Fu, and he's good. That ain't my style." Raph shrugged, hoping the older boy would take the hint and leave him alone. He had dirt on McCarron he could use, but he had promised Epps no fights on campus. It was a promise he was really coming to regret.

"Ooh, 'and he's good,' I didn't know you were an expert." The football player grinned smugly as he taunted Raph, riling up the youngest student in their calc-two class.

Raph stared forward, silently counting to ten backwards in what little Utrom he knew as he tried to keep himself from jumping on the taller guy and waling on him. The guy kept running his mouth, speaking like he knew what he was talking about in that irritating low murmur that wouldn't carry. Raph wanted to thrash the guy, and several students were starting to look uncomfortably at him as Raph's face kept darkening with rage. They were all saved when the professor walked in and McCarron finally sat back smirking smugly at the tight muscles of Raph's neck that had grown constantly tighter during the short five minutes they waited for the professor to walk in.

Finally with the lecture beginning Raph focused on his easiest class. The math was something he understood, though he had no idea how. It wasn't like he had ever willingly studied this crap before. Still, sometimes he could almost feel how the math worked, like following a new maneuver that built on techniques he already knew. Behind him he heard McCarron softly moan as the professor powered through the lecture as they swiftly headed for finals. Raph smirked, if McCarron was struggling as badly in his other classes as he was this one, then maybe he wouldn't be playing football next semester and that just might take the smart-assed snot down a peg.

"Any questions, please ask." The professor finally turned from the board to eye his students critically and noticed the prized football player half asleep in his seat behind their prized martial artist, who seemed perfectly awake. "McCarron," he bellowed, startling their new quarterback from his light doze, "Since we lost the last game, you have no reason to stay up late celebrating. I suggest you focus more on your studies so you can stay in football or you will lose both."

McCarron flushed, eyes down as he nodded. Raph tensed, letting his ears pick at the whispers rising around the class at how the freshman quarterback had thrown a perfect pass – to the wrong team – and cost them the last game. Raph smirked then looked over his shoulder at his tormenter and grinned, "Wanna keep flappin' your gums?" he asked, "'Cause I'm still top of my division."

"It's just hitting someone, its not like you actually need talent for that." McCarron sneered rebelliously.

"Really?" Raph grinned ferociously, "I'm free before my match, wanna try me?"

McCarron only sneered despite the fear in his eyes, slamming his book shut and racing from the class the second it was over. Raph smirked, now he had a _really_ good reason to win tonight.

* * *

><p>Spring Throw Down, the annual spring semester college martial arts tournament. Four rings allowed different schools of training to fight simultaneously. Kendo, tae kwon do, jiu jitsu, judo, karate, aikido and kung fu each would cycle their competitors through.<p>

The New England universities and colleges had only sent their best teams, making this one of the largest collegiate martial arts competitions in history. Raph looked the room over, smirking as he thumped his shoulder into Don's. "We've got company."

Don waved to Casey and April in the stands, and nudged Raph when he spotted several kids from St. Stephen's orphanage and Mr. Russell, the boys' councilor there. Mikey waved, the kids waving excitedly back. In the higher bleachers they spotted Eliza Maza's partner, Matt Bluestone, frowning when the detective signaled with a small bit of paper held in his hand that they would talk later.

"This is weird," Mikey looked around the bleachers, "I didn't know we knew so many people." He waved at Silver Sentry and the wheelchair bound, aged Zippy Lad both dressed in street clothes sitting close to the ring. "Is there something going on I don't know about?" the youngest turtle asked suspiciously as he scrutinized the crowd, his hologram's light brown eyebrow's furrowing with slight nerves at the detective's presence along with the incognito super heroes.

"I don't think so, Mike." Leo grinned at his brothers, "most of them are our friends, and they're here to watch Raph. I guess this is our normal now, we have an extended family that cares about us." Still they were all on high alert. There were several colleges represented here, and occasionally in the crowd mixed with the families and friends of the competitors they saw flashes of far too familiar purple tattoos. The Dragons were nosing around for fresh blood it seemed.

"In otha words, take the attention and run wid it." Raph grinned and waved at the stands, receiving a ringing cheer and several cat calls in return. "Right now, I'm lovin' this." He was, yet his eyes never strayed far from the purple dragon tattoos spattered through the crowd. He looked at Leo and nodded silently, tonight he had to fight differently, pretend he was someone else entirely or the Dragons would recognize his fighting style and assume humans had joined the Turtles' ranks. It would be an assumption they couldn't afford.

"I never thought Raph would turn out to be the attention hog of the family," Don grinned hugely, happy to see Raph's massive idiotic grin that had been in hiding for so long. He thought back and realized that grin had vanished soon after they returned from their strange trip into the future visiting Cody Jones, Case and April's yet inexistent grand-son.

"Welcome everyone to the Fifteenth Annual Spring Throw Down!" The announcer's voice rose over the din of the hall, "Tonight we celebrate the best competitors in martial arts our colleges can produce. This tournament will also determine which team will go on to State competition …"

The brothers barely listened to the announcer, instead eyeing Raph's competition and keeping track of the few dragons in the stands. Around them their team mates gathered and shuffled, all backing Raphael and hoping he could make it to the final competition of the night on his own. Their captain beckoned the team together, huddling in close as they all said a team prayer for victory.

"Raph, I've never had a competition like this before. Normally we have several guys up here, but this has been an off season. Just do your best, and don't overdo it. Remember this is your first competition, stay cool and don't lose your head."

Raph swallowed a laugh, this was barely a competition. These guys had never been to the Battle Nexus, and probably never would. Here there were dozens of people, maybe a couple hundred at most. In the Battle Nexus there were millions of people, and few of them anything remotely human. No, Raph thought silently, this was just a friendly sparring match. Then he spotted McCarron, his most hated classmate from math, and grinned.

"Hey Leo, see the jock front center?" Raph asked flatly, eyes hardening at the jock's sneer.

"Yeah – Raph, what did you do?" Leo asked once he saw the athlete in the bleachers and Raph glaring daggers at each other.

"Nothin' yet, and not to him; he ain't worth my time. Just tell me when he realizes that fightin' ain't just ''bout hittin' people'."

"He said that?" Leo asked looking from Raph to their school's rising football star and back then shook his head. "Sure, just don't do anything too reckless."

"Okay fearless." Raph taunted lightly, feeling far too good to take offense at Leo's concerns. He turned when his name was called, standing alone on the edge of the sparring mat representing Gayle Sykes University. The other teams stood with several members strong still in the competition.

The Gayle Sykes team hung back, all benched from past losses that excluded them from the tournament. Points scored over the semester secured placement in the final competition, and this semester only Raph had secured his spot. Don looked closely at Raph as he warmed up, fancy katas stretching his muscular frame.

"He took the stray shot from Eliza nearly a week ago," Don murmured to Leo and looked worriedly at Raph's hologram covered shoulder. "It was just a graze, but it could tear."

"Like it has done twice already in ROTC?" Mike asked flatly, "You put that new ooze stuff on him before we came."

"Yeah, I just hope it works." Don sighed, thinking on the green ooze he had concocted to cover the bullet would Raph refused to let heal.

"He'll be fine." Leo nodded adamantly, "Raph's a hot head, not an idiot. He won't risk losing his ability to fight for his pride."

"We hope." Don and Mike muttered in unison. Then turned to watch the competition unfold.

On the sidelines Leo watched the matches. So far everyone present were good fighters. Some had more skill, others had more luck. Then Raph's name was called. Despite the straight face he presented, inside Leo was roaring for his brother to win. Leo, Don and Mikey all enjoyed watching each other spar, but watching Raph fight? _That_ was a thing of beauty.

Animalistic, Raph punched, kicked, flipped and spun his opponent backpedaling and blocking until Raph, locking eyes with his opponent, sneered viciously through his mouth guard. Intimidated, the other boy stumbled and Raph landed one last good hit, taking the kid down. In that second Raph had become a disturbing creature of violence, his energy seemed to seethe with fury and anger. The crowed loved it. Raph at six feet and built like a truck he was huge, all muscle and lean. The announcer pronounced Raph the victor and the crowd roared, loving the restrained brutality that was Raphael.

Despite their cheers the brothers sighed a breath of relief. Without drawing too much attention to himself, Raph had been guarding his left shoulder from straight attacks. Once Raph had stepped off the mat Don rushed to his side.

"How's it feel?"

"Tight." Raph grimaced and tried not to roll his shoulder too much. "This scrape is gonna tear if I keep fighting."

"You did good out there. Keep your bouts short and rest until your next bout." Leo spoke at Raph's other side, and frowned as Raph shook his head.

"No way, I rest now I'll go cool. I'd better keep stayin' warm." Raph looked to his brothers and each nodded slightly.

"I'll get Splinter." Don spoke softly and turned to the stands where their father sat. With quick words and a worried frown Splinter summoned Raphael over. Kneeling before his father, Raph let the familiar, aged hands wander over his shoulder. Age old habits made Raph sit tall and straight, though inside he was smiling. The last time he had been hurt enough for Splinter to use a ki healing on him had been when they had all taken a beating against Utrom Shredder.

The time the alien's ship had exploded had nearly killed all four of them, and Splinter had been forced to hover over all his sons. None of them had realized until later that Splinter had accelerated their healing with ki. Now, Splinter used that same technique to keep Raph's shoulder from tearing the wound open.

"There, Raphael. You should be able to fight. Just, be careful, my son."

Raph smiled, loving his father's voice when his name was spoken. Splinter could make a name into a calm word or praise or an angered shot of disappointment. "I will, sensei."

Leo mused as he looked the competition over separated by weight classes that perhaps ten were even close to Raph's size. Some were taller, but few had his musculature. The next few bouts came and went, most were the expected tournament fights. Several were quick, one gaining victory over the other with ease. Others were more hard fought. In other rings fighters won and lost, spectators screamed and cheer squads from different schools supported their colors.

On the bleachers, McCarron sat pale faced at watching the normally brooding Raph become something of a monster. Internally Leo laughed, but would never let any realize how proud he was of his little brother. If Raph ever found out Leo would never live it down.

Raph stepped up to his next opponent, and internally gulped worriedly. He knew this kid. The boy was from Columbia, and rich. Why was he one of the Dragons? The long purple dragon tattoo started at the kid's long fingered hand, and trailed up his arm, hiding under the sleeve of his gee. Raph felt his gut twist with worry, and shoved his concerns to the back of his head. He'd let Leo worry about the whys.

Swiftly Raph pulled his mind back to the fight, blocked out the dragon tattoo and the implications of the Dragons getting members from the wealthy side of town and with an education. A shudder raced down Raph's hologram shrouded spine as he thought of Hun imitating Don's brain with a think tank of smart gang members.

The referee signaled the fight to start and Raph's brain went blank. He moved, knowing that fighting like an animal would only get him out of the tournament against this guy. Without thinking, he channeled Leo's calm. Dark eyes that raged with his inner fire conflicted against the collected cool he projected.

Across from him, the other man smirked, one sandy blonde eyebrow rising in amusement. The other attacked, Raph used the forward momentum against the boy, let the other's strike turn into a return blow – and blinked as the pale boy was laid out cold.

"What just happened?" Raph yanked the mouth guard out and turned to his brothers, each looking stunned.

"Wow, Raph. I didn't know you could do that." Mike, for once was almost speechless, though Raph just knew that after this Mikey would be impossible to live with for a week.

"Bro, that was cool. Never do it again." Don slung his arm over Raph's shoulder, pulling his taller brother down to his height. "You acting like Leo outside of a fight is scary enough."

Raph smirked, "Okay so Fearless has some sweet moves. Still don't mean I gotta like it."

Mikey cackled, "Bro, look at your friend." All looked over to McCarron, the jock looked pale, on the verge of passing out and in awe. "I think you got a fan."

Raph sighed, "Class is gonna suck tomorrow ain't it?"

"Probably," Leo grinned as the four moved away from the ring, letting the next bout start. The day drug on, Raph feeling every connect and impact by noon. Their division would be finished before the lunch break at one, and Raph just wanted it over already. By now everyone had guessed who would win this division for the tournament. The Gayle Sykes university team had smashed the competition, despite being only one man. Now Raph just had to get through his last opponent, then he could ice his shoulder.

Raph watched the other rings, taking in their different fighting styles and remembering. He smirked as a memory from their year lost in the future caught up with him, when he and Mikey, free to walk as turtles in the future world where humans and aliens lived together, had gone to an interstellar wrestling match. He had wrought havoc back then – how did you say something had already happened, but in the future? - pulling his mind back Raph let the thought continue. He had shown the future fighters _real_ wrestling, and had made them a few enemies in the process. He looked around the many seated opponents and realized this time he might just get away without incident.

* * *

><p>"Turtle luck true ta form." Raph sighed as they walked, more like trudged behind Detective Bluestone towards a more private location away from the competition as people spilled our llike boiling ants from an angry hill. The weather services had messed up, like usual. They said the storm to the east would miss them, and now they were forced to walk in the early hours of a massive nor'easter. Raphael's shoulder throbbed and he was tired. Somehow Mikey had convinced him to stay for some of the other bouts and McCarron had stuck close like a leech the entire time. Raph shuddered at the thought and forced the image of McCarron's head on a walking leach's body from his head. Dealing with Bloodsucker once when they had first met Ape and Casey had been once too many for Raph.<p>

"Yo, Bluestone, ain't we far enough out yet?" Raph finally demanded, his voice harsh from pain.

"Perhaps," Bluestone turned and leaned against a bruilding, standing against the cool bricks and sheltered from the rains by a narrow ledge. "Maza called in, the Hunter's dead. Something, she didn't know what, killed it." He sighed, one hand scrubbing down his face as he looked up to the dark gray sky with scared blue eyes. "There's something out there _worse_ than that hunter."

"We know." Leo admitted simply. "The Hunter was not the worst we've faced, just more difficult to kill."

Bluestone blinked and looked at each of the teenage boys in turn, his eyes widening as he looked to each of them and found the same darkness held in Leo's eyes. "Guess life goes on, huh?"

"Yes, detective." Splinter spoke finally, "We all must continue regardless of what life throws at us."

"Then, so long guys. I _really_ hope I never have to deal with you in police business again." Bluestone smiled wanly at the quintet of disguised mutants and jogged through the rain bent against the wind.

"Dude, you like totally beat the competition solo!" Mikey crowed once the detective had disappeared from sight. Ahead of them Master Splinter chuckled gently at his sons' enthusiasm.

"You have a point Michaelangelo, Raphael has done well." Splinter spoke softly as they once more turned into the rain. They moved swiftly ducking through the rain until they reached a sheltered alley and thumbed off their holo-emitters and vanished into the shadows. The Hunter was dead. Sevarius, Stockman and Bishop were history. For the first time since their lair had been invaded months ago they could focus on school and training. For the first time since they had their turtle forms back, they could breathe.

* * *

><p>To be continued ...<p> 


	7. Secrets and Misconceptions

**A/N: **Warnings for Splinter being mushy, and probably OOC. Crossover with the anime BAOH.

All rights belong to Mirage Studios and Nickolodeon, I'm just having a little fun.

* * *

><p><strong>Secrets and Misconceptions<strong>

'You'd think we'd catch a break already.' Don ducked as a blade sang whizzing past his head. Behind him Mikey shrieked as Foot ninja surrounded him, blades flashing in the night. Mikey grinned, eyes wide and bright. He guessed this was the part where he should be afraid, but he wasn't. With a cackle the orange banded brother flung out his nunchucks, spinning and hitting with solid thunks into ninja skulls. On the far side of the roof Raph's roar broke through the battle din and masked ninja flew like bowling pins before him. The largest of the turtle brothers for once let his shoulders loose, released any strength he held back and became a living wrecking ball. More ninja came to surround the force of nature, but the red banded turtle seemed to shrug off the masses.

Leo remained silent, but his presence was felt. Knots of ninja were stripped down to just a bare few, the rest lying motionless on the ground. With keen eyes Leo took on more opponents leaving Don and Mike to face fewer enemies. Raph took the majority of their opponents, keeping the throngs busy as Leo decimated the smaller groups and kept herding a steady trickle towards their other brothers to knock into unconsciousness. Leo let the flat of his blade pummel into a black-clad ninja's stomach, almost relishing the startled _umfph_ of wind as the man fell to the ground in a silent heap.

A breeze trickled by, and the ninja vanished, leaving the brothers to stand alone on the roof as they stood over the unconscious forms of their many opponents. "Did anyone else find that odd?" Don looked around warily, his bo still held at the ready as adrenaline made him twitchy with nerves.

"Odd's kinda an understatement ain't it?" Raph asked rhetorically. They all felt the jangling discord in their blood at the loss of their opponents, and one single void of absence sensed too keenly.

"Where was Karai?" Leo asked, looking cautiously through the night darkness and feeling the emptiness of the rooftops all too clearly.

"I never saw her. Dude, do you think this was a diversion?" Mike asked, looking from one brother to the next and grinning as the others all looked at him blankly.

"It probably was." Don sighed, and rubbed his brow tiredly. "I need to do some research to find out what she's been up to." The others nodded. Karai had been quiet for too long. They had barely heard anything from her since the fall of Winters. Now that they had been reminded of her presence they all had the same uncomfortable thought: _'What had she been doing for the better part of _two_ years?'_

Flipping and leaping across the skyline the brothers raced to a street level sewer entrance and bolted for home. Their semester had ended, but now they were back to their old routine before the human serum had derailed their lives. Once school let out Hun began recruiting in earnest. Bored kids in bad parts of town, unhappy college coeds with no dreams for their future, overworked doctoral students with no money and dispirited from their toils. So many were being recruited. The behemoth had even begun recruiting middle class workers and high rollers to boost his ranks - and their IQ level.

Hun had an empire, and it was growing. The Purple Dragons were now becoming something of a cult, with Hun at the reigns bringing in the masses. Gone were the simple days of street gangs to worry about. The Dragons now rivaled most of the mafias in town and their ever expanding reach was starting to scare Don.

"Any idea what that was all about?" Leo asked Don as he leaned against the computer nook Don worked in.

"Perhaps," Don muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Several screens flashed displays and scrolled text. Small video feeds played in the corners and main screens displayed equations and lines of code Leo could not even begin to fathom the meaning of. "Shredder had made himself into an entrepreneur to hide his wealth. If my guess is correct Karai has been building her own legitimate empire."

Leo frowned, then nodded. "It makes sense. She always idolized her father and would do anything to walk in his shoes. I'll go talk to Mikey."

Don nodded. If any turtle knew what the rich elite were up to it would be Mikey. Their baby brother had developed a knack for following the upper echelon of society and knew where everyone was all the time. Don wondered if Mike had managed to snatch one of his data mining programs for all their little brother knew.

"Dude, I don't know about Karai, but a new babe is in town." Mike pulled out a magazine from under his bed. "Meet Oroku Miwa, the newest Japanese uber babe."

"Mike," Leo looked at the magazine intensely. "_That_ is Karai."

"Dude, if this is her then she's got friends in _really_ high places. We're talking rubbing elbows with the President, Prime Minister and loads of high ranked officials across the globe. She has _islands_, plural dude, and she has been working around the globe starting schools for girls and orphans."

"I don't like this." Leo grabbed Mike and drug him to Don's nook. "We've got a problem."

"You think?" Don asked shortly, "I think Karai is making the Foot an international organization. Several of her schools have been advertising 'private contractors' to several countries including Iraq and Afghanistan plus several Asian and Eastern European countries currently embroiled with turmoil. She might be making herself into an entrepreneur in the public eye but she has been making herself several training schools to raise her grunt soldiers."

"It ain't like we can jump across the globe taking out her assassins." Raph pointed out from behind his brothers.

"No, but we can protect our city and our home." Leo admitted, then sighed. "While we find out who made the Hunter."

"That can wait, my sons. The night is late and we have much to do tomorrow." Splinter peeked his head into the nook and looked over his sons.

"Goodnight, Master." Leo nodded and herded his brothers off to bed. This was their last patrol for the week. Raph had a short break from ROTC coming up and tomorrow was their real birthday. The turtles moved to their rooms, all ecstatic to sleep in as they had been promised.

* * *

><p><em>S<em>_abate_!" the gruff command halted the figures mid attack and brought the young adults to kneel before their master. The four pupils sat before him, perfectly still, breathing controlled and steady despite their rigorous training exercises. It felt good to be on summer break and once more normal turtles.

"You have worked hard today, my sons." The gruff voice continued. "And so, I have a special surprise for you all." Dark, liquid brown eyes gleamed with suppressed joy at the startled expressions upon the faces of his pupils and sons. "Follow me, and use all the ninjutsu I have trained within you." Four wide eyes danced with curiosity as their heads nodded in silent understanding. Their first week of break, and Splinter had dismissed his human students for two weeks, leaving him that time with only his sons.

"Master Splinter?" one voice called out as they traveled down the darkened tunnels that formed the maze which served as the front line of defense for their subterranean home.

"_**D**__**amaro"**_ their master shushed in the silent subvocalization he had just recently trained his pupils in. His single word vibrated through the still, dank air and could only be heard through their ki. No echo resounded of his voice. His single word seemingly a trick of the mind.

The five were silent, darkened shadows at one with their dank environment. The group filed swiftly through darkened tunnels, foul liquid sloshing noiselessly beneath their feet as they approached a ladder leading to a heavy metal manhole cover and the surface beyond. With a silent signal Master Splinter signaled his first most pupil to lift the manhole cover, the next in line immediately behind to watch his back. Splinter followed after his first two pupils, leading his last two. The five fluidly slid into the shadows of the abandoned alley they had emerged into. Watching with silent awe, the four youths stared as their master leaped with inhuman speed and accuracy from the ground, pushing off from the darkened wall four stories from the earth to land with silent precision unseen above the edge of the rooftop without ever touching the nearby fire escape.

The four brothers shared gleaming expressions _'I can do that too!'_ Each sent to the other with the silent grudge all brothers share. Each followed exactly in their master's footsteps, each one silent and graceful, yet none could match him, not even their leader.

"Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, over these past few months you have endured much, and have seen things which I had hoped to always shelter you from. Tonight is yours to celebrate your eighteenth birthday. You are free this night to with as you please. However, you are not to be seen, and _must_ be back to the lair at dawn." The four looked at each other in bewildered silence. Their master had remembered their birthday as always, yet this was the first time they had been cast out of their home for an entire night as celebration though, and all were nervous. They were always home before midnight, and never out close to dawn if they could help it.

"Hai, sensei." The four bowed in unison, backs straight and proud, only when they looked back up, their master was gone. Officially, they were eighteen, but according to the human identifications they had April make for them almost a year ago, they had just turned sixteen. It had made sense at the time to hide their age and be sheltered by the human orphanage they had found themselves in, mutated into humans.

"Have fun, my sons." Their father's voice echoed from around them. Their father and master would always be better than them. And it suited them just fine. They might be eighteen, legal adults in human society, but they all secretly wished to keep their sensei as their hero for just a little longer.

Now, they were back to being normal turtles, and tonight was theirs. "Hey Leo," Raph looked to their eldest brother, "Was Fathah' actin kinda funny? Ya know, not quite himself." Hard black eyes looked to his brother with mistrust, not liking when his own family held secrets from him. He could have laughed at the irony.

"Yes, he's been acting strangely for the past week. I hope he is alright." Leo responded with silent concern. Their first week off from school had allowed all of them to walk into a room just as Sensei had ended a call on his shell-cell. It was disconcerting, especially as Donny had yet to trace the hidden number Splinter would call so frequently.

"Yeah, plus he was so strict today, he didn't even answer my question! And it was important too!" Mikey pouted, and let the fact that he had completely forgotten his question from the sewers slide by unnoticed, and hoped his brothers wouldn't catch him on it.

"I guess tonight Splinter is finally admitting to himself that we're adults now." Donny spoke up softly from Raph's side as he faced away from his brothers towards the glittering city lights, unintentionally echoing Leo's own worst fear.

"Well, duh, that's what being emancipated at eighteen means." Mikey gave his brainy brother a silly smirk.

"Mikey, we're eighteen. If Sensei follows the human laws, he could kick us out or leave on his own. We know enough to survive without him; he is no longer responsible for us." Donny explained halfheartedly, already envisioning scenarios of them returning to a fatherless den, or to a den with their rooms emptied and their notice of eviction in their father's hands. Their mood sobered quickly, the four became quiet before their most rambunctious brother leaped off the roof with a soft yell.

"Follow the leader!" Mikey hollered, the others whooped and followed suit each one attempting to outdo the brother before them, each one attempting to be the most silent and skilled, each one pushing thoughts of their father's unusual actions from their minds. As usual Mikey led them strong for several miles, and then Donny took over making their tricks more difficult, their jumps harder yet slowing down from Mikey's faster pace. Soon Donny would drop back and Raph would take over, his stunts more daredevil, the pace faster, increasing the risks inherent within their excursion. Finally Leo would be shoved to the front, silently taking lead. Usually this would be when their nightly duties would begin, where they would actually search to find traces of their enemies and criminals; to protect the innocent.

This time however, Leo took a different path. He instead pushed them to their limits on how fast and how high they could leap, forcing each of them to new efforts in scaling new construction, expensive high rises and business towers. His leaps were phenomenal, each of the others pushed harder than ever just to make the height, and basically ignoring form and style.

"Wow!" Mikey panted once he finally reached the top of their current perch and stopped to gaze at his eldest brother in awe, "Leo's like better than Master Splinter!" His wowed exclamation only caused Leo to furrow his brow.

"No, Mikey, I'm not. We're good, and if what Donny said comes true, we'll survive, but none of us can best Sensei." Leo began to look down before a smack up the back side of his head stunned him to turn on his attacker only to find Raph glaring down at him.

"_Don't_ do this Leo." Raph ground out, "We don't know what's gonna happen, but if he really wanted us gone, don't ya think Splinter'd just tell us off and kick us out rather than giving us a free ride for one night? Splinter's sharp, he's not mean.

"_And_," Raph continued, being the one to give a lecture for once, "even if he did kick us out, it wouldn't be yer fault and it don't mean we're solely yer responsibility. We're a team and a family, we lean on one anotha'. So no solo heroics, ya got me Fearless?" The fierce scowl the elder brothers shared was enough to make Donny and Mikey wish for a distraction to pull them from their thoughts.

Loud yelling erupted from a nearby alley granting their silent plea and the four raced off to investigate, each set on stealth mode, too keyed up to let their squabbles interfere with their work. The four vanished into the shadows, more silent than the howling wind; they landed on the roof facing the alley.

"How could you not have known? There is no such thing as 1313 E Thirteenth Avenue!" a portly, balding man stood quivering in suppressed rage and fury as he railed at his teenaged employee.

"But sir! We deliver to 122 1/8 on Brooklyn Avenue, and it doesn't exist." The girl replied with equal anger in her voice.

"But the Hamatos have ordered from us for over six years! They pay, and they're regulars damn it! They also don't order forty-four pizzas three hours before closing!" The man continued to rant while his employee fumed and inside everyone was rushing just to stay even with their orders.

"Man! Forty-four pizzas! Wow, that's like dinner for a whole year!" Mikey breathed excitedly. That got Leo's mind whirling and the other three looked somewhat taken aback at their eldest brother's face-splitting smile.

"We have a mission." Leo spoke softly. "Raph, Donny, get to the air vent on First and Blinker, get our emergency duffel bags. Mikey, come with me, we're going to Fifth and Lexington to get our pizza fund. Splinter gave us a free night, so let's party!" The other three shared concerned glanced. It was rare and usually not good when their most reserved brother even _breathed_ the word party. They bolted off in different directions, managing their dash and grab assignments returning within fifteen minutes to see the boss and his worker still going at it, faces red with anger and indignation. Leo suppressed a smirk as they quickly donned their human garb, over sized loose fitting clothes with hats covering their eyes and high collared shirts covering their faces and necks.

Even to Leo they looked like a gang, and he hated to see it, but hey, if it got them pizza he wasn't going to argue. "Uh, Leo," Donny spoke up as they approached the front door of the building, "we're not going to really get all forty-four pizzas, are we?" Leo glanced at his brother and stifled a laugh at his greener-than-usual complexion.

"No, tonight we'll splurge, we'll get three, and some sodas." The others looked at each other elated with the news. Usually pizza also had mandatory salad or fruit and no sodas with meals. This was a special meal.

Leo opened the door just as Mikey piped up, drawing amused glances from those who recognized them as regulars and incredulous glances from those not used to them.

"You mean it! No salad? No broccoli or asparagus?" Mikey squealed.

"No, lame brain, no green tonight." Raph groused, earning them more chuckles.

"Yay! You're the best!" Mikey grinned hugely at Leo while Donny just shook his head.

"Eighteen going on six." Donny smirked earning himself a pout from Mikey and a snicker from Raph.

"What's ya orda?" The four looked at each other and Leo grinned stepping to the counter.

"We kinda over heard you had a prank call and too many pizzas made, we can buy three of them." Leo said calmly. The man blinked and looked at the four oversized teens before him. The kids shifted nervously under his gaze, now all too keenly aware that their 'rags' really were rags. They had holes and small tears. Their shirts were faded while their jeans and sweat pants were getting threadbare through the knees. That, and the way they stood, told the man volumes of four teens basically on their own too poor to get decent clothes but still willing to help out others. He heart went out to the four. Times were tough, but they still seemed genuine.

"Hang on a sec." The man turned from where they stood and spoke softly to his now calm boss. "Boss, I know these kids. They're a good lot, and good tippers. I think they're _the eighth_." The man and his boss shared a glance before the man turned back to the boys.

"Sure, what kind ya want? We've got at least a half dozen of each."

"Vegetarian." "Cheese" "Pepperoni" "Meat supreme" the four responded as one, each flushing at the outburst of laughter they got from the workers behind the counter.

"Um, make that cheese, pepperoni and meat supreme." Leo amended, dropping his own from the list. His brothers shifted uncomfortably for making him ditch his on their birthday.

"No way, bro." Raph groused, "Yer the oldest, do somethin' fer yerself today. Drop mine." Mike and Donny groaned.

"Guys, don't fight over this too! Can't we even have peace on our birthday?" Mike whined weakly.

"Wait, whose birthday is it?" the boss asked kindly.

"Ours, we're quads." Donny replied softly.

"Okay, we've got four teenage boys, scrimping to help us shift out this pizza, on their birthday no less? That just don't add up. I got two teenage girls at home and _they_ can eat three pizzas on their own. So how 'bout this. You get yer four pizzas, plus two extras, no anchovies, a pair a two liters and a cinna-bread." The four shared a glance that was a feast! But, could they afford it?

"How much?" Leo asked uncertainly. Ten minutes later the four teen walked out the door each carrying a small stack of pizzas with their gruff brother toting a bag of soda.

"So how do ya figure they're the eighth?" the boss asked stiffly once the door had swung closed behind the boys.

"The hyper one, he's Mikey, it's his voice that usually orders the pizza." The man replied with a gentle smile. "I was a delivery driver when they first called. I thought the address sounded a little odd, but when it turned out to be a sewer grate I thought I was nuts. I jus kept tellin myself 'I gotta get me a new route.' Yet they kept callin and I kept my route, so I told the next driver an he thought I was nuts until he had to take a call. For the last six years I've heard that voice change from a young kid's to his current voice. Occasionally one of the other's will call, but Mikey's always in the background admonishing for no anchovies." The two shared bemused smiles.

"Wait," Raph ground out just after they left the pizzeria, "How'd they know no anchovies?" The others gave simultaneous blank, stunned expressions before Leo shrugged.

"Right now who cares? Let's go to the park, they've got some hidden benches we can use there." The four strolled through the city for once a part of it even though they couldn't fit in tonight.

For the next hour the four laughed, reminisced, joked and teased eating their pizzas, the two free ones were sausage and mushroom, each had ones they wouldn't touch, Donny refused to go near the mushroom pizza while Leo avoided the meat supreme like the plague. An hour later all that remained were six crusts, four empty two-liter bottles and seven empty pizza boxes.

"I'm in heaven!" Mikey cried with a pained groan, "Wait, no I think I hurt too much, but it was _soooo_ good!" The others silently seconded his words yet shook their heads at his antics. After another hour of just resting from their feast, the four finally stood and began to stroll from the park back into the main city to find an empty alley and a ladder to a roof. They still had to return the rest of their depleted pizza fund and their rags to their respective hiding spots before dawn, which was still six hours away, but you never knew what could happen, so it was best to hide their stuff before anything did.

This time they took their time first to hide their money, then to hide their clothes. By the time they finished, it was already four hours before dawn. The night shifted from warm air of night to the cool chilly air of early morning, something the four brothers rarely shared as they were usually asleep by this time.

"Come on," Leo leaped lazily away, leading his brothers further into the city, "One more round then we can go back to the sewers to warm up." The boys once more toured the city, checking the former territories of their now deceased enemies - Sevarius and Stockman - before patrolling their most used manholes and finally descending to the tunnels to an empty and abandoned subway station which they used as an extra sparring room. Here there were old turnstiles, multiple ticket booths and several small seating areas which were perfect for fighting around and over. It forced them to work in a more natural environment, to a city at least, to conduct their sparring sessions. Over the next three hours they made it seem like they hadn't eaten in a year. All of their stomachs were complaining loudly from the level of exertion they had put forth.

"Hey Donny," Mikey called out as he took a breather from his last bout, "Is it even possible to burn off that much pizza in three hours?"

"I would love to say no Mikey, however the evidence states otherwise." Donny responded breathlessly as he blocked and counterattacked as he sparred with Raph while Leo looked on, constantly analyzing and looking for flaws. They had to be ready for anything.

"Let's try something new." Leo stated, not even bothering to still the ongoing sparring session.

"Sure" Raph groused, not even glancing Leo's way as he continued to attempt to pummel Donny. When he finally did glance to his big bro, Leo was missing, and so was Mike. Before Raph even had a chance to pause he suddenly found himself under attack from three sides. The bouts were getting more intense, this time with no breaks. Leo constantly darted taking one of the others with him to leap into a fight and vanish only to attack someone else.

The mock battle made their already tired bodies ache and their stamina was stretched to its limit. Yet no one complained. Tonight it was fun. There were no rules, no real training. These were war games, they were fun, and they bonded the brothers through their final anxious hours before they could finally return to the lair to see just what their father had been up to these past few days. It was something none of them were looking forward to.

It was nearly four as the turtles approached their final destination. The sewers were slowly taking on the chill from the air above as the stored heat from the day slowly rose through the grates above their heads. The four moved at a swift pace, forcing themselves to keep moving, refusing to let the cold of the still air to chill their blood.

Finally, rounding the last bend in the tunnel, they came upon the underground clearing that marked the hidden entrance to their lair. Here, they stilled, unsure how to proceed further, they were torn with indecision, until Mikey finally spoke up. "Hey, dudes just chill. Master's kind, he won't throw us out, so just act like we suspect nothing and we'll be cool." Mike's words seemed to give them the courage to finally approach the den.

The lair was still, silent and dark, with only the few emergency lights that were wired into its structure that never went off. The four crept into the shadows, having seen too many similar scenes in the past when former homes had been destroyed by enemies. Through the darkened entry, they crept past the open entertainment area and split up, Raph and Donny to check the upper floor bedrooms while Mikey and Leo investigated the kitchen and work spaces. The four met back at the ground floor entrance to their master's room. With silent glances and signals each reported that everything was as it was left. Lifting his hand to knock, Leo's movement was stilled by their master's voice from behind the door.

"Enter, my sons." The four glanced at each other, Sensei must have been meditating, to sense their approach. Leo opened the door and entered, the others right behind him and all stopped frozen in their tracks at the scene before them. Master Splinter's room had been completely redone while they were gone. New tatami mats lined the floor, a futon closet stood beside the door while a simple bookcase that held all of his favorite books and scrolls stood next to a comfortable armchair. The center of the room though, was dominated by a new kotatsu, the table had its glass surface holding down the large blanket that kept the heat from the hidden under-table heater contained. Upon the table was a traditional Japanese meal; miso soup, fresh cooked fish, sushi, teriyaki, and many small treats designed for a select individual. Beside the table stood a covered object, from the shape it looked like a sword rack, however it was too tall to be a standard katana display rack and too wide as well.

"Come, sit." The four followed their father's words, each sitting upon a deep red cushion. The four looked to the feast before them, stomachs growling despite all that they had eaten earlier. Splinter looked them over and felt a pang of regret. He had heard their words, upon the roof top when he left them. He had wanted nothing more than to hurry back and assure his sons that he had no intention of making them leave anytime soon, but it was not in his plan, and his plan had to be followed exactly for this night to come out as he had hoped. "Happy birthday, my sons."

The four grinned, those few words melting the residual nerves and tension like a soothing salve. "Thanks Master!" Mikey beamed as he snatched up his chopsticks. The others followed suit with their own thanks, and all fell to their meal with gusto.

"My sons, your spirits are dancing with energy tonight, yet you look so tired, what have you done this night?" Splinter asked as he slowly savored his meal and watched with silent mirth as his sons each inhaled their meals with voracious appetites.

"It was _so_ awesome Master!" Mikey piped up first, his meal already almost finished. "I started our game of follow the ninja, and then Leo takes over and he leaps the Chrysler building in four leaps! It was super cool! He even did it like how you jump master." Mikey stilled, flustered and continued in a somewhat subdued and embarrassed tone, "you know, he made it look cool while doing it. Oh, and graceful too! I mean he leapt up and did this sweet half spin mid air, kinda ran up the side of the building then _whoosh_ he leaps again and pushes off doing a one-eighty back on the Chrysler building and this time he just keeps bounding up, he doesn't push off _anything_. It's like he was weightless or something. Man it was – it was _awesome_!" The others sniggered at Mike's loss of words, something that rarely happened while Leo just toyed with his food in embarrassment.

"You each have come so far in your training. Your control over your minds and bodies is complete, only more experience will increase your skills. However, it is the control over the heart and the spirit that yet remain to be mastered, and that my sons, is only something I can guide you in, but not teach you, for both are difficult to master and may take a lifetime to become adept at. Therefore, it is time that you are accepted as full ninja of the Hamato clan." This time all four stilled, meals completely forgotten as their sensei slowly stood and turned towards the covered object. The brothers stood and followed now seated before their master on deep green cushions.

Splinter pulled from under the cloth an old, worn, chest that the brothers had known all their lives, something they had seen in their father's possession throughout their memories. "This, my sons, is my memory chest. Within it I have kept all things dear to me from our past." The brothers looked at each other, now noticing something they had missed all their lives. Splinter always spoke of _their_ past, the five of them together, never of _his_ before he stumbled across them.

Splinter lifted the box's lid, and first pulled out an old, dented and rusted coffee can. It was small, it wouldn't last more than a week in their den, the faded and nearly scratched off Maxwell House label faintly read "Premium Roast" the four glanced at each other nervously. "This is the can I ushered you in when I first found you eighteen years ago."

"We were really that tiny?" Donny asked wide-eyed. "I know most pet shop turtles are small and that we were babies, but well, I had kind of hoped we would at least be a little bigger, you know?" the brains of the family stared hard at the can their father cradled lovingly in his hands.

"Yes, we were all very small those years ago." Splinter set the can aside and pulled out four tiny strips of red cloth, maybe six inches in length at most. The four started immediately when they realized what they were.

"Shell, Mastah, that's our first bandanas!" Raph gasped completely stunned. "I thought they were long gone." Raph instinctively reached out for the one that was his and cradled the little forlorn rag in his huge hands.

* * *

><p><em>Splinter sighed; the tiny turtles he had rescued six months ago had begun to get into mischief. The four, especially their ringleader, would attempt many times to escape from the little warren he had been sheltering them in. It was time to give them something else to do. <em>

_Slipping away from his warm burrow and the four sleeping figures within, Splinter snuck off to the nearby trash heap and scrounged until he finally found an old pair of worn red overalls. The clothing was huge; it must have belonged to a very big man, for Splinter, now the size of a medium dog could still climb up through the pants leg with no problems._

_Splinters quickly pulled the pants from the heap, and drug them down to a spare burrow he kept for storage. There he cut strips from the pants, each large enough to be tied securely around his charges' faces. The next day the turtles were very well behaved, he did not know why, but he was thankful. He even got some extra scavenging done. Along the way he spotted a wrinkled and torn museum pamphlet. Picking it up he saw four photos that captivated him._

_Without even thinking, Splinter kept the pamphlet, he would have time to read it more carefully after the turtles had fallen asleep. He returned home swiftly to a truly disturbing sight. His den was destroyed; the smell of fear and blood soaked the fabric lining his home. Down, deeper into the sewers a blood trail led; it smelled of his smallest charge, his little joker who always made him laugh._

_Splinter dashed past his untouched storage den, tossing everything in there and bolted to follow the small, smeared trail of deep crimson. In his haste, as he scurried frantically after his charges, he nearly missed the oncoming cat. The feline leapt straight over him, landing behind him and bolted away yowling in pain and fright. Fearing the worst, Splinter raced in greater haste along the blood path, quickly hearing the sound of sniffling and soft murmuring that finally led him to the turtles._

"_Spin'ta! The loudest of them called, this one always had the most aggression, and the most protective instinct of the four, and acted as ringleader to get them in trouble. He knelt on the floor holding the joker of the four close to him, covering a wound on the back of the smaller turtle's neck. The inquisitive one, however knelt crying by their most silent brother, who lay too still in a growing puddle of blood, four great claw marks gouging the soft flesh of his arms and the underdeveloped plastron._

"_He fought the monster!" the little joker cried. "I wanted to explore, an' he said no, but I would'n'a listen then the monster came an – an tried to eat me! Then we ran an' then the monster came again but he beat it off an now he's dead and it's my fault!" It tore at Splinter to think he had lost a child already._

"_Come here, my son," Splinter called, beckoning the joker forward to quickly take in his wounds, they were bad, but he would live. Then he turned to his fallen charge and noted with slight relief that he still breathed. "Quickly," he turned to the strongest of the four, the hot tempered one, "go to the storage den, find the black box and bring it here. Go with him and bring the white bag." Splinter commanded to the unharmed half of his little group. The pair sped off, quickly running to the den and back while Splinter used all of his knowledge to help his fallen child._

_It had taken them much effort and time, but by the next dawn the four got their fallen brother back to the trashed den. Splinter knew they would have to move, but first they would have to get their little warrior back on his feet..._

_It had been a week since the attack, and the little warrior was already mostly healed. Splinter marveled at their healing powers. Neither of the hurt pair had stayed in their beds for more than two days. It was a miracle. Yet their strongest member was angrier than ever, and Splinter could only watch with sad eyes as his son slowly sank into self hatred._

_With the passing of the week came the quest for a new den, and names for his little ones from the pamphlet of artwork he had picked up. They found what was to be their first lair. Once moved in Splinter made a traditional meal, as well as he could, with what he could find. Then he sat the boys down and they ate their meal, him chuckling as they struggled to learn the new art of eating with chopsticks. Once finished, Splinter merely retained his mirth at watching Leonardo and Raphael swapping beef for salmon and Michelangelo swapping anyone to get rid of his broccoli._

"_Come here, my sons." Splinter commanded. He watched his four charges kneel before him and smiled kindly at them. "For too long I have put this off. Now I see that I alone cannot keep you safe from the dangers this world holds." Splinter watched his boys for their reactions; all looked nervous and scared thinking back on the monster attack, and nervous at their master's words._

"_Today, we will begin your training, to follow in the footsteps of my master and become ninja." The boys' eyes lit up with excitement and Splinter sighed. He had not wanted this path for them, for it would only bring them more danger. From a small box he pulled out a brown strip of fabric. "For every group there is to be one of selfless caring. This one falls so the others may be strong. I pray that this is the last time you must fall, my son, Leonardo. One who is strong as the Lion."Splinter tied the small pathetic rag around his son's head. The joy and pride upon his small features made the worn scrap look like a great trophy. Splinter had never known such joy._

"_Also in each group is the protector, the one who looks out for their others even when he himself is in danger. You did well against the 'monster', my son, Raphael. One God has healed." Splinter traced his claws delicately along a scratch the boy had hidden from him and the others after the fight. No stitches or healing salves, Raph had been very fortunate to not become sick with fever._

"_And for each group one exists to think fast and guide us when we are lost. Your quick thinking saved you all by running from the 'monster'. Your knowledge and wisdom has served you and your brothers well, my son, Donatello. One given to us by god." Splinter's hand upon the boy's head made the child grin hugely. His sons' were being made to feel better about the monster and themselves. Splinter knew that there would be much worse battles to come._

"_And finally in each group exists one who causes mischief, yet it often has a cause. If you four had been out playing the monster could have taken up our den as its own. By attempting to get out you caused it to act first and thus saved us all. Though I hope you have learned your lesson about sneaking out, my son, Michelangelo. Messenger who is like God."_

_Splinter stepped back and looked at his four charges, now with their tiny bandannas tied about their heads. They were so small, and so young. Yet they already knew about death. This fate should not have been placed on innocents such as them. _

* * *

><p>"Yes, My son. These are the first bandannas you earned those many years ago. I am so proud of you all, my sons." Splinter looked over at his sons with pride and mirth as Klunk, Mikey's pet cat slunk into the room and curled up on his lap.<p>

"Master?" Mikey looked up with nervous curiosity, "What was the monster that attacked us that day?" Splinter looked at his sons carefully before responding.

"A cat." The four froze, Mikey with his hand poised above Klunk's head to pet her.

"Wait, you mean we got our tails handed to us by one of Klunk's kind?" Raph gaped. It was all Splinter could do to not laugh outright.

"Yes, my sons, the 'monster' was nothing more than a hungry alley cat who had gotten turned around in the sewers. Truthfully it was most likely hunting me as most cats prefer rats." Splinter looked over his sons once more and chuckled. "But enough. You have your first bandanas, now here are your first weapons. Do you each remember carving them?" Splinter looked over his four with pride as they each held tiny child-sized versions of their weapons in their hands.

* * *

><p><em>Today was a big day for the turtles. They had been learning the art of the ninja and Master was very proud of their accomplishments. They had had come far in their training. Each child learned at an astonishing rate, yet they only saw how good they were compared to each other and Master Splinter and they were never satisfied. They always had to become faster, smarter, stronger to outdo the others.<em>

_The four gathered in the dojo and knelt before their Master. He stood silently and then produced a pair of shiny objects that looked like funny shaped forks. He seemed to dance, showing how they became part of the hand. Then he pulled out a pair of sticks tied together with string. They whirled and twirled, spun and seemed to sing with a voice of their own. Then a staff with a dagger on the end was produced, then a pair of massive knives. More weapons followed, small daggers, long swords, curved blades that made the children's blood run cold. Then a simple staff came forth, roaring and thunking as it was twirled and dashed against the ground. After what seemed like forever Splinter finally knelt facing his students._

"_You four have seen the many weapons of our family, now go in pairs and search the sewers. Find wood to make your own weapons from. Choose one of those shown to you this night." The four grinned at each other and scampered away, silence still not their strong suit. Two days later, each came forth with their weapons. Splinter had known which weapons would be chosen, but he had not expected them to choose as they did._

_Raphael's short temper and focused energy made him perfect for the nunchuku, yet he chose the sai. Leonardo's intense desire to learn and perfect everything seemed more suited to the much more trickier bo than the Katana, yet that was what he chose. The sai were more suited to Michelangelo's high spirited antics yet he chose the nunchuku and Donatello's intense scrutiny was perfect for the katana, yet he had chosen the bo. Splinter was greatly relieved that most of the bladed weapons had been ignored. He did not want much live steel in his dojo where his young boys could get hurt._

* * *

><p>"Yes, Sensei, we remember making these," Leonardo responded softly as he fingered his twin bokken. He remembered them looking so awesome, but now they were only rough little sticks with little resemblance to the katana he now wielded. In a way he was disappointed, he knew they all were. Their achievements as kids were rather pathetic.<p>

"Man! Was I cool or what! We were like what, two, three when we made these? Wow this is so totally awesome. Human kids got nothing on turtles! We so rock!" Mike twirled his dented and cracked nunchuku gently admiring their poorly carved length and the frayed rope that held them together.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"Bro, I've worked with kids so I know, human kids might be able to do something like this when their five, six, heck some kids much older than them couldn't even make these half as well as we did." Mike cackled with mirth. The others looked at each others' small toy weapons and back at their own.

"Yeah Mikey, we did rock, didn't we?" Donny replied with nostalgia. Splinter only grinned and reached back into his box of memories. This time he pulled out four small colored strips of fabric.

_Splinter sighed. He had heard from the people passing by as he hid in the darkness waiting to find more food, that as kids grow they demand more freedom, independence and individuality. He was quickly seeing that his boys were no different. Now at eight years old, they were starting to compete more for items that were different from each others'. Even their face masks were coming under fire. Raphael and stained his black, to stand out, while Donatello had left his on a rooftop in the sun to bleach it. Leonardo kept his exactly as it was given to him, at the price of being called teacher's pet when the boys though they were alone. Then Mikey seemed to find bright colored permanent markers and stained his bandana every color he could find except black. _

_It was time to make them individuals, as the only way they could understand their liknesses was to first understand their differences. This along with their different weapons and likes and dislikes should make them feel more unique from their brothers._

_Splinter had hidden the ninja masks the Ancient One had bestowed his sons with when they had returned Master Yoshi's ashes to him. Now they were needed again but it had taken Splinter all day to find where he had put them before his boys had regained their senses. He just had to find a way to give the boys their new face masks so that they each felt special, but that told them they were all equals in his eyes. Splinter now wished more than ever that storytelling was one of his gifts. For the creativeness Michelangelo possessed would be greatly appreciated right now._

_Splinter took the masks into his room to re-manufacture them by pulling an all nighter. The masks were bunched and warped creating thickened eyeholes that would not tear easily nor would they irritate the turtles' sensitive skin around their eyes. When it was done Splinter then had to figure a way to hand them their masks, but with the dawn dwindling it was time for the boys to get up and start their training._

_Today the boys put forth great efforts in the dojo. Each one showed new mastery of their most advanced lessons to date. It was Michelangelo who gave Splinter the final inspiration to hand them their masks and make them more unique, if only in their own eyes._

"_Sabate" Splinter commanded once they each had shown to his eyes that they could indeed do all of their new skills with mastery beyond their meager years. "My sons, today you have completed the fifth level of your training. You have all done very well. These past years your spirits have grown much stronger and now I can finally give you symbols of your strengths._

"_Michelangelo, you are pure in spirit and in mind. Your strength is your honesty, much like the sunflower that only knows to follow the sun. You only know to follow your heart. Such intensity is orange, like summer." Splinter pulled forth the orange bandana and removed to old brownish one. Michelangelo beamed a megawatt grin and bowed, though he hugged splinter regardless of his attempts at self control._

"_Donatello, though knowledge is your strength, it is how you use that knowledge that shows your true character. You constantly strive to make our lives easier by using what you have learned to recreate what we can use. Such a gift is called nobility; your noble spirit puts us before you. So purple, the color of such strength is yours._

"_Raphael, you are quickest to anger, the first to attack, you are also the bravest protector of your four brothers. Your gift is courage, such a gift is rare. Many allow fear to cloud their minds when faced with the choice of fight or flee. Yet you have never faltered. Protect your brothers always, and wear your color with pride. For red is courage as is love for one's family."_

"_Leonardo, your gift is rarest of all, and hardest to see. You will be seen as weak or cowardly when in truth you are loyal. Your gift is to follow those you are true to forever, to protect them from truths they should not hear, to preserve their secrets with them and always have an open ear. Loyalty, like the waters of a river is blue, for it flows and constantly changes, without ever stilling, even when one can no longer see if it is there." With the final bandana tied about his son's head he looked them over and knew the Ancient One's initial choice of the colors was right. The colors brought out his sons' eyes._

* * *

><p>"Master," Leo spoke up, "do these colors really represent our strengths?" Splinter scratched the back of his neck slowly, not quite sure how to explain himself to his sons.<p>

"Truthfully, I do not know what these colors mean, if anything. I chose the colors I did for your eyes. Each of your bandanas complements your eyes. That is why I chose those colors for you my sons." Splinter looked at his sons, expecting the worst.

"Ha! You owe me a steak pizza Donny!" Raph cried, "And Leo, you gotta help eat it." Donny and Leo groaned.

"We should never have made that bet." Don groused.

"I should have stayed out of it." Leo gasped; face turning a pale sickly lime green. Splinter only laughed until he saw Michelangelo pouting.

"What troubles you Michelangelo?" Splinted asked with concern.

"So ya mean I'm not honest? And Leo's not loyal? And Raph isn't courageous? And Donny isn't noble?" The large blue eyes that met his nearly melted Splinter's heart and caused the others to pause.

"No, my son. You each had your gifts before I bestowed your bandanas upon you and your gifts have only grown stronger since." Splinter smiled down upon his sons. He knew their acts from the past eighteen years had been strongly influenced by his words and actions, yet only now, looking at his sons and thinking on their quarters did he truly realize how much he had actually altered their perceptions of reality. Each filled their rooms with their favorite colors, which happened to be their bandana color. Their positions in the house reflected their 'gifts' he praised them for years ago. Their world had a unique blend of ninjutsu and bushido mixed with New York street smarts gleaned from their forays. These elements of their world were mixed with aspects of the many ancient and alien races they had come into contact with. Each of their encounters and battles had only made them stronger. Splinter truthfully wondered if any normal human could even begin to compare to the amazing beings that were his sons.

"My sons, today I have shown you your past and allowed you to see how far you have come. Know that I always have, and always will love each of you equally." At Splinter's words the boys nodded though they shared worried glances. Their father didn't tell them often that he loved them. It was one of those actions speak louder than words things, but he rarely said it so often in one night, and that was what was worrying them. It was as if he was preparing to say goodbye.

Splinter reached to the covered object and grabbed the covering sheet swiftly ripping it off to reveal what it had been hiding. The four gave astonished gasps of awe and wonderment. It was indeed a weapons rack, a special one that held spaces for seven weapons. Upon it were two katana resting naked above their sheaths, their blades a malachite grey smoky color that reflected little light. The sheaths as well as the grips were the same charcoal grey with blue sigils lacquered upon hilt and scabbard. Beneath them rested a pair of sai, their blades the same smoky color with charcoal grips, this time red sigils were lacquered on their hilts. Beside them a pair of nunchuku rested their wooden lengths lacquered with orange sigils while the cable that bound them was a smoky grey matching their base color. Above them all lay a single bo, the staff was lacquered in the center bearing purple sigils. Donny, unable to just content himself with looking stood and haltingly approached the rack, taking up the staff with a questioning glance at Splinter.

"Sensei!" Donny gasped as he felt the length of the unlaquered wood at the ends. "This is ironwood, it's the strongest wood in the world. How in the heck –?" Donny trailed off unable to express his surprise with words.

"A ninja's weapon must be able to be relied on in all circumstances. Too often has your bo snapped, leaving you with only your hands and mind to protect you. This staff is stronger than any other wood to be found, and lighter than metal. It will not warp. You will be safe." Splinter explained to his mystified son.

Leo felt a chill go up his spine, too often tonight has Splinter spoken as if they were to be separated. Too many times has he said he loved them and it was really starting to freak out the young turtle. It was beginning to sound just like the time Splinter sent him away for a yearlong training mission, which he managed to stretch into two. Leo, however shook off the feeling, enjoying too much this birthday celebration. He would not let anything get in the way of his family having fun tonight.

"Hey, Master?" Mikey piped up, "I know that the rust colored sigil is the Hamato family crest, but what are the other ones?"

Splinter smiled, his sons constantly surprised him. Normally it was Mikey to play with a new weapon while Donny nit-picked the details, but this time they seemed to have switch roles. "These, Michelangelo, are your own crests. These show that you have attained the rank of full ninja. Tonight you are adults and full members of the Hamato ninja clan." Splinter rose and stepped over to his storage trunk, pulling out four identical boxes.

"All ninja have their symbols for marking their rights of passage to adulthood. Take these as well as your new weapons as your marks."

The four stared at each other in surprise. Then opened up the black lacquered wooden boxes revealing to each a new belt of charcoal grey complete with many pockets and pouches and sheaths to hold their weapons. On top of each was a dark grey mask, identical to each other complete with the Hamato bon stitched in the clan color of reddish rust along the side.

"What's goin' on Masta Splintah?" Raph asked suspiciously as he stripped from his old belt and mask to don the new set. His shell was tingling uncertainly as if there was something bad brewing on the horizon.

"Miss O'neal uncovered this for you." Splinter picked up one last item from his memory chest, a manila envelope he passed silently to Donatello. It was thick, bound with twine to keep it shut and brimming with papers. Taped to the front was a three-inch floppy disk labeled DORESS. "Go, my sons and take her present to you." Splinter watched his sons bolt from his room fondly and headed for bed. In the darkness of his quarters as he lay upon his futon he could only pray that his sons would not be taken from him by this secret.

"DORESS" Don read the strange word slowly from the screen. He could not find any acronyms that it could be, found no organizations or agencies listing it as a project or entity. He shoved the small, tan floppy into his computer drive and waited as it clicked and ground telling him it was reading the disk.

"What is that?" Leo demanded as images and text files unfurled across several of Don's adjoined screens. Images of a teenage boy in clothes from another country and different decade filled the screen, each showing him standing with a little girl and a strange yellow critter standing at her feet or on her narrow shoulder.

"That is a test subject from a program called BAOH." Donatello skimmed through screens and documents in rapid succession, eyes gleaming as he switched to an internet search and jammed a jump drive into his USB hub. "They were creating a super soldier. It's some sort of parasite that infects a host and makes it into something stronger and more powerful. According to this data the first BAOH was terminated nearly twenty years ago along with the lead research group."

"But someone still had the goods, and made another." Raph ground out as he flipped his new sai anxiously.

"Where are they Don?" Mikey asked as he leaned in closer, hanging off is brother's chair.

"Hegura Jima, a small island off the north coast of Honshu." Don tapped a map on yet another screen, his finger just above the largest island's northern shore. "All the events from the report occurred on the mainland near there."

"What's the call, Leo?" Raph asked, his dark eyes meeting Leo's with firm support of his decision.

"We talk to Splinter." Leo turned and headed to their sensei's room.

"My sons, you have found something?" Splinter asked as they lined up before him. Leo nodded and detailed Don's discoveries. "We should go to Japan, sensei."

Splinter nodded once, his hand trailing lightly down his long beard. "I must meditate on this my sons. Give me until tomorrow before we decide." The brothers nodded, none expecting less but each unhappy with the wait.

* * *

><p>Note: 122 18th Brooklyn is the address Michaelangelo gave to the Domino's pizza delivery guy in the first live action Turtle film from 1990. "Wise man say: Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."


	8. Evolution

**A/N: **This chapter is dark, read at your own risk. Warnings for death, descriptions of dying. Raphael is put into a tough spot and makes a hard choice. 2003 cartoon centric.

All rights belong to Mirage Comics and Nickelodion Studios. I own nothing.

* * *

><p>Elemental Evolution<p>

_... "We talk to Splinter." Leo turned and headed to their sensei's room. _

_"My sons, you have found something?" Splinter asked as they lined up before him. Leo nodded and detailed Don's discoveries. "We should go to Japan, sensei."_

_Splinter nodded once, his hand trailing lightly down his long beard. "I must meditate on this my sons. Give me until tomorrow before we decide." The brothers nodded, none expecting less but each unhappy with the wait ..._

Time is strange. It can stand still in a battle, stretching a second in time to last an eternity. When busy on a new project time flies, an hour condensed into a single moment. Yet, Don mused, time is at its strangest when waiting. As the hours ticked by and sunrise approached each second was an eternity refusing to pass no matter how long he waited, and yet the night flew by in a heated rush making him wish it would slow down and let him think. Don looked to his brothers, none of them had slept since Splinter had retreated into his quarters.

Raphael was in the surface garage guised in his hologram as he worked on his beloved bike. Leo meditated, somehow managing to find his calm and center despite this anxiety that gnawed painfully at Don's insides. Mikey played his video games, his shining eyes the only tell to his uncertainty as he used mindless entertainment to keep him from panicking over their Sensei's response.

A loud whining gurgle pulled Don from his thoughts and made Mikey hit the pause button as they looked at each other in surprise. Both shook their heads, neither of them were hungry. They looked to the screen where Raphael was currently running his bike, the roar of the engine audible through the thick concrete. Slowly both brothers looked to Leo and snickered as another loud snarl of hunger sounded from the eldest turtle's stomach as he meditated.

"Guess I should make breakfast, huh?" Mike asked with a grin. Don nodded and followed, the long night had left him in need of coffee and Mikey could never make it strong enough.

Don watched as Mike cooked, his mind finally calm and quiet as schematics played through his head of current projects he needed to complete. As the sun rose outside, above their human facade home, below the cool chill of morning finally hit and suddenly Don felt very much awake. Down the hall Raph's shower started, the second eldest somehow managing to slip into the lair without anyone noticing.

"Splinter should be out soon." Leo's voice made Don jump, his cooled coffee splashing down his plastron.

"Ah! Shell." Don switched the coffee cup between hands and shook off his dripping hand before reaching for a kitchen towel. "Good." Don muttered absently as he tried to remember how long he had stood there for his piping hot coffee to become cold.

"It's okay, this has been a long night for all of us." Leo patted Don on the shoulder and poured his brother a fresh cup of coffee. Don finally sat down, ignoring the stale stink of spilled coffee in favor of waiting for Splinter to appear.

"My sons," Splinter finally spoke, his voice startling Don out of his own mind with a small flinch. Don blinked, rubbed his eyes and looked around as if he had just woken up. Raph was sitting across from him, Mikey was shoveling pancakes and toast down his throat and Leo just finished pouring himself some orange juice that had been out long enough to sweat.

"Morning Sensei," Mikey greeted around a mouthful of breakfast. Leo and Raph chorused with him, Raph smacking Mikey on the back of his head making the youngest shoot milk out of his nose at the force.

"Ew, Raph!" Don gagged and pushed back from the tabled, saving only his once more cold coffee from the white and greenish spray.

Splinter sighed, passed Mikey a towel and sat down next to Leo. "My sons," his voice admonished, "I have meditated over your findings."

"Can we go?" Don asked with wide, hopeful eyes, silently amazed at how badly he wanted to find the data DORESS owned that could make the Hunter. He wanted this data, this technology. He had to know what they did and find out if they could turn his brothers into simple turtles - or worse.

As Don waited for his father's answer he looked to Raph and Leo. Both fought to protect their family with their weapons and their fists, this was Don's way. The cameras, the motion sensors, data mining for any whisper of Utrom or Triceraton technology. Any rumors of human experimentation or genetic manipulation, he had to find them, he had to make sure nothing could ever happen to his brothers. He wasn't the fighter they were, but he would never let anything happen to them either.

"You can," Splinter nodded with calm acceptance, "You must leave immediately my sons, and go as _turtles_. The Hunter has been stopped, but another, something worse may yet come. Hurry, and be safe." The brothers stilled and slowly ate. This was good news, this was what they wanted. They balked though as reality hit them. Times had changed. Leo had been able to sneak on board a plane to South America. Four turtles could not sneak onto a plane, not anymore.

Don sighed, Raph's shell alone probably weighed over six-hundred pounds. Each of them were massive due to their denser muscles and heavier bones - it was the main reason they never took elevators. "How can we get there?" Don asked bewildered as the logistics of their mass alone boggled his mind.

"Easy," Raph replied, "A cadet graduated from Gayle Sykes and owes me a favor. We can hitch a ride in a C-17. He's headin' towards Japan anyways."

"But," Leo looked around them, "Can we hold our holograms for that long?"

"Yes we can." Don stood and finally downed his lukewarm coffee. "We can hold them without charging for a month and they now have kinetic energy capturing oscillators - they charge themselves as we move."

"So," Mike looked up from his plate with the towel still held to his nose, "Guess we need to pack."

Their plane was scheduled to leave in three days. Once Raph had confirmed with the former cadet for flight information the brothers started planning. They helped Splinter clean and organize the lair. Don improved his security and built in extra layers of protection to keep Splinter safe while they were gone. Leo contacted Casey and April, notifying them of their impending trip and to ask them to watch over their father while they were gone. Mikey filled the cupboards with staples for their master. Mostly rice and various dry goods to keep their master from having to go topside too often.

"My sons, I have lived alone before. Do not fret over me. I will be fine. Besides," he continued with a bright smile, "My garden is growing well. Soon the vegetables will become ripe. I will eat well while you are away." He smiled warmly at his sons, despite the slight nagging worry at Raph's increased solitude.

With the announcement of their plans Splinter watched his sons become separate individuals instead of their cohesive whole. The slowly ticking two days before they readied for their final departure seeming to wear on the turtles more than Splinter could ever imagine. He watched Raphael closest of all, the dark eyed turtle kept more to himself although he kept up with his training and chores. Yet, once his duties to the family were fulfilled Raph slipped away again to places unknown often with his holographic illusion in place where he could walk topside without suspect.

* * *

><p>"Sensei," Raph asked softly the night before they left, calling to his father from the comfort of his room. "I – I got somethin' for ya."<p>

"Yes, my son?" Splinter asked, hiding a smile at Raph's shy expression, dark eyes shimmering with inadequacy.

"In Little Japan down on the east side they've got Bokashi starter kits. I got ya one ta help the garden grow." He hedged slightly, eyes downcast.

"Then show me what this is, my son," he smiled warmly, "And be sure to explain how I use it." Splinter chuckled at Raph's grin, pleased to see his son loosening up. "Will you also be running your path before bed as usual?" Splinter asked as they walked to the garden plot Raph and Leo had built earlier that year.

"Yeah, I've gotten kinda addicted to it." Raph shrugged, "One good thing 'bout the ROTC, they're gonna make me faster than Mikey." He smiled as he showed Splinter the miniature compost bin that was little more than a locking drum held off the ground by a spindly base. On one side was a handle used to turn and aerate the compost. "This is Bokashi, chicken meal, bone meal, fish meal, rape seed meal, just add a little soil to the mix and some of this powder. It's a type of bacteria that keeps the soil healthy. Churn the compost mix in 'ere for a week then add it to the soil." Raph swatted at a passing gnat.

"It'll also keep these damn bugs outta our home wid'out the pesticides ya refuse to use."

Splinter chuckled lightly, "But it gives me practice to catch them with my copsticks."

"Ugh! Sensei, watchin' Mr. Miyagi do that once was once too many. Just practice after I've gone ta Japan. Alright?" Raph replied gruffly, not amused by the image of Splinter catching the filthy, nasty insects with his chopsticks during dinner, but he didn't mind his master's warm laugh at his expense. Not at all.

The night passed peacefully and quietly as each brother completed their last minute checks over their bags. Then Raph left for his nightly run through the sewers while his family went to bed. The runs had become habit, allowing Raph to clear his mind and tire his body in solitude then return to the dark, quiet lair for a shower and bed. It allowed him to relax, free himself from the strain of living in such close proximity to his family without violence.

He slipped into the moonlit darkness, a hazy crescent moon warring with the city lights below for victory over the night. From the rooftops, as high as Raph could go, he figured the moon won. From here the city was nothing more than a glowing haze, like hot exhaust over tail lights.

"You weren't thinkin' of going away without saying goodbye, were you?" Casey's voice filled the darkness.

"Wouldn't think of it." Raph grinned lopsidedly, "I had to follow your stench all the way up here."

"Hey! I don't stink." Casey countered.

"Of course not, Ape just likes ya smelling like man-sweat." Raph grinned ferally, enjoying watching his friend squirm.

Casey lifted his arm, sniffed and winced, "Whew, okay, maybe I do stink." They fell silent as a distant scream caught their ears. Sirens were already flashing in that area. Knowing this night had potential for some excitement the pair turned in the other direction looking for some heads to bash.

He and Casey raced along the rooftops, their feet pounding along the New York skyline of the lower East Side. As they raced, Raph spotted small knots of Purple Dragons preparing to invade multiple targets, indicating that tonight would be a busy night. When the Shredder was revealed to be an Utrom Hun severed all ties with the Foot, taking complete control of his Purple Dragons. His years of serving his master had educated him in the fine art of duplicity allowing him to create a profitable business façade that covered his black market dealings and allowing him to hide in plain sight.

Raph flashed a dark grin into the night, a plan filling his mind, its call refusing to let him ignore it. Tonight, his last night in New York for a while, would be the last night for Hun to get what he deserved, one big strike before they left would leave him reeling, and too weak to attack them for a while. "Yo Case, ya alive back there or what?" Raph called softly as he retraced his footsteps back a couple of rooftops. There, Casey had stretched out; for once too tired to continue with the rooftop race they had started earlier.

"I'm beat Raph, I mean April can be a pretty tough task master, and now with us planning the wedding and getting everything moved into her place and all, it's exhausting." Casey yawned hugely.

"Need me ta get ya home?" Raph asked gruffly, hiding his concern for his soon to be brother-in-law behind his usual tough guy façade.

"Sure Raph. April's been keeping us pretty busy. This cargo company she's dreamed up has me hauling crates every which way. Trust me a fight is a whole lot easier than hauling a bunch of heavy wooden crates filled with ancient stone artifacts. Fighting you can run from, hauling cargo, especially when you're working for your girlfriend, you can't." The two slipped back to Casey's apartment, which was just a messy, one room bachelor pad and turned on the tv. Raph grabbed them a couple sodas, slipping a small pinch of sleeping powder into Casey's.

"Here ya go." The human took the soda willingly with a self depreciating smirk, he used to drink a brew every night after head bashing when he had worked alone, but now he drank either a soda or an energy drink when Raph was here, the turtle getting on his case for drinking something that would only dehydrate him further and hurt his body. The kid cracked him up sometimes.

Casey paused mid sip, Raph still really was just a kid. He and his brothers had just turned eighteen. The thought was mind numbing - and unnerving. Case remembered two or three times coming to his apartment just to find all his beers gone, his cheap whiskey empty and Raph cussing out his brothers as he downed more alcohol. After the third time, Casey stopped keeping his alcohol in his apartment - it was cheaper at the bar.

These boys had been on the streets fighting criminals and crime lords for three years now they had started when they were fifteen. Now he understood his Ma a little better, he too had started to really bust up the criminals at fifteen in retribution for killing his dad when he was eight.

Both Casey and Raph focused their attention to the glowing TV before them, watching the wrestling match highlights. It took only a few minutes more before Casey was snoring softly. Raph slid the empty can from his companion's hand, placing it upon the coffee table and slipped out the window to the deepening night beyond.

With one last look behind him, Raph moved to go straight to the last spot he had seen the dragons, and froze mid step. An all too familiar black van stopped along a nearby alley caught his eye. It was Bishop. And, wherever Bishop was, Stockman was always there as well - that meant they weren't dead like he had thought and desperately hoped.

Raph growled lowly, and flicked on his tracking module. If anything happened to him, at least his brothers would know where he had fallen. It was Stockman who had started everything they had put up with over the past years. Stockman had built the Mousers, destroyed their first home, and forced them to the surface to face the Dragons, and the Foot. Stockman had the technology to create the Foot-Tek ninja. Stockman created the Outbreak Virust that mutated Donn and nearly cost them a brother. Stockman was the reason they had met April, and the force behind them encountering every villain who had nearly killed them is their sort lives.

Raph snarled softly, he should forget the van. He should go home and prepare for tomorrow's departure, but something in his gut kept pulling him to follow the van as it pulled away from the curb.

'_If we're gone then what's ta stop Bishop, or the Foot or any of the gangs from invadin' the sewers? LH can hold his own, but every fight tears him up inside. And Splinta'? He ain't as young as he used ta be. He had to recova for a month aftah the Foot found our old lair, and that was three years ago. What if they found him alone? I gotta do somethin'._'

Raph thought of his options as he watched the van slowly crawl to the end of the alley, his hand trailing hesitantly over his shell-cell before clenching into a resolute fist. He had to be the protector tonight, he had to walk in Leo's tracks just this once and be the one to keep his family safe.

Raph's mind immediately focused on the most straight forward route, that being to simply take out Stockman and Bishop however, here he ran into Leo's best argument for keeping the humans alive. He knew from their adventures in the future that Bishop had the potential to bring peace to earth and embrace the many alien races in a vast treaty, and to become the best President in memory. Bishop also had the potential to turn around his cruelty and focus his misguided science on preservation and helping others. However that was still a hundred years in the future and right now the pair were just this side of being evil incarnate.

Raph leapt across the rooftops, remaining in the shadows as he slipped from shadow to shadow tailing the van, concealed in the night's darkness as he followed it to its headquarters. He used every techno trick he had learned from Don, every technique he had pretended to ignore from Splinter and Leo, and every creative notion he had ever witnessed from Mikey to get him past the perimeter without setting off any alarms.

When he finally reached the hidden labs, he was not expecting to find Stockman back in a floating jar with a single three fingered claw as his only outside link to the world. Raph looked around and smirked. The ever overconfident psychopath had the lab's video recordings rerouted to a main terminal, showing him as he worked. Another screen showed him working just the same, however this one that was being seen by the security team only showed him muttering as he worked, omitting his raving about the injustice of his position and the sorrows of his genius being used as brute force to decimate Bishop's opponents when his true talent was being smothered by the near immortal's lack of vision.

"So Bishop wants a poison for those turtles? He wishes them to be utterly destroyed and all traces of their existence utterly wiped from the sewers! I will give him his wish, only I will make it something far worse! The turtles will all perish, as will everything within the sewers! I will create destruction raging across this city to make everyone know the true depths of my suffering! The Turtles will finally be destroyed and I will have my revenge!" Stockman held up a large vile of glowing yellow liquid, admiring his work oblivious within his own raving to Raph's dark, seething form behind.

Raph swallowed a bitter growl. Leave it to Stockman to go in for the overkill. He slunk across the lab deep within the shadows to a recessed computer console and pulled his newest shell cell Don had just completed that week from its hiding spot within his belt. The newest cell had been upgraded with a universal computer hookup so that they all could access the computers on missions in case if Don was busy and could not check out the data himself. Raph connected the phone to the computer starting the hack program Don had installed to gain access into Stockman's computers and had to silence a whistle at the arsenal Stockman had created this time.

Regardless of how much he hated the cyborg Raph had to give the doc props for creative ingenuity at least. The yellow vial held a highly lethal condensed poison containing enough to kill the whole of the East Coast. Condensed gas canisters could disperse a single drop to clear an entire building of life. The silver tubes were small, easily carried by a shoulder holster and simple to operate. Micro darts were also on the holster complete with a dart gun. Each small projectile the size of a house fly held just enough to take down a single human.

He grimaced, he was about to do the only part of his job he disliked. He was about to kill, not just one person, but many. This was all to protect his family and his home from the very monsters that had created this latest lethal threat.

Raph snuck through the shadows of the lab, collecting everything he needed, strapping on the holster and hip belt in complete silence. He caught a dim reflection of himself in a clear panel, his double resembling a turtle version of an old western cowboy complete with gun belt. He might have grinned at the image, except this time Bishop and Stockman had gone too far. This time they had targeted his home turf and planned to bury his family.

Raph checked the phone one more time, finally disconnecting it when it flashed 'Download Complete' on its dim face. Slipping the phone back in its pouch Raph at last felt ready and stilled only for a moment more silently wishing he had his bros to watch his back, and grateful they weren't here to see him become a killer. Then he turned and launched his attack directly upon Stockman.

Raph reached into a special pouch sewn into the lining of his belt withdrawing a micro EMP explosive shuriken. With a flick of his wrist the small, dully shinning star sunk into the tank and exploded, deactivating Stockman's floating capsule. After the small _thump_ and passing smoke vanished the disembodied brain was trapped within its glass prison. Raph bashed a thick crack into the jar, allowing a slow leak to drain away the fluids that kept the last bit of Stockman alive. When the jar ran dry Stockman would _finally_ die - or so Raph fervently hoped. No matter what happened to their enemies they kept finding ways to come back.

Swallowing the bile that built in his throat Raph placed a gas mask over his beak securing it tightly behind his head and injected three of the gas canisters with poison before melting once more into the shadows.

He moved to the vents placing the gas canisters within the main air ducts of the complex and slipped from the compound that lie on the outskirts of New York. With a cold sense that Death was close by Raph fled into the night, leaving through the same entrance he had slipped in through, and prayed he had evaded the security scans. He could not have Bishop targeting his family directly and hoped the psychopath would soon follow Stockman into oblivion.

* * *

><p>Slipping from the Hudson River onto an abandoned jetty Raph gagged and dry heaved his empty stomach once he reached dry ground. He had killed, his hands stained with blood. How much? He didn't know, but he was a murderer and the night was still young. He rinsed his mouth with the brackish waters of the river disregarding how many pollutants it contained then slipped off to the upscale warehouse that served as the Purple Dragons' main head quarters.<p>

He could hear Hun screaming at his followers within, goading his minions to fight for some prize won during their night's raid. Clambering onto the rooftop Raph tugged the gas mask from its place on the gun belt and secured it back on, slipping a gas canister from its sheath and into the central air duct of the warehouse, praying that there were no good guys inside, working undercover.

He waited, listening with growing revulsion and self loathing as the sounds of combat suddenly changed into terrified gasping coughs and cries of despair that just as swiftly vanished into all too still silence. None left the building, no one had even tried. Raph could not think about what he had just done. These were hardened thugs they knew when to fight, and like rats in the sewers, they had a nose for when to flee. Yet none did, no one had escaped. Raph looked sickened at the yellow vial still clasped within his hand and swallowed weakly.

With despair growing in his gut he pushed off of the rooftop, bounding across his beloved city to the glittering office complex that served at the largest mafia family's headquarters. He only stilled long enough to drop a pair of canisters into the air ducts and fled before they had even deployed. He couldn't listen to the death rattles within the lungs of victims again.

Raph raced to the Foot building, wishing he could think of another way to keep the Foot out of his territory without taking further lives. Some way, anyway, but nothing came to mind and Raph prepared the last six canisters with a cold emptiness building inside. Once every ten floors he dropped a canister. The small dart gun was ready in its holster already filled with darts. He hit every ninja that approached him on his ascent, using a stolen pair of night goggles from Bishop to spot the Foot–Tek before they could strike.

For once Raph was thankful for the completely encasing garments the Foot wore, knowing that the serum was most probably doing things to the Foot he did not want to know about. Raph rushed the rest of the job, rapidly firing darts into the Elites, showering the penthouse with the poisoned darts without being seen and without looking too closely at the figures he fired at.

Raph looked around as if coming out of a daze. He stood in the throne room. Here the wooden floor gleamed its familiar golden hue, patches gleamed brighter from being replaced after he and his brothers had faced both Shredder and Karai here in previous battles. Every time they had fought Leo and their brothers had hoped that the father-daughter pair could be convinced to accept a peace. Yet peace never came and all too often their efforts only awarded them dead opponents and grievous wounds for themselves.

With a sickened groan Raph threw the entire lot of partially used serum and every other vile creation he had taken from Stockman with all his might into the throne room. They smashed upon the hardwood floor releasing a rising plume of yellow smoke that rose into the ventilation. As he vanished through a high window and fled back home to face the future to come in deathly still silence Raphael felt the cold hands of Death touch his shoulders like a knight of old gaining his rank. The image of Death knighting him with a cold scythe sent shivers down Raph's spine.

Four hours. Raph slunk into his home unnoticed four hours after heading out for his run. His body reeked of the polluted Hudson River, his eyes red and stinging from unshead tears for what he had done. A new grief shone within the depths of his dark eyes that made them harrowed and haunted. The silence of what he had done weighed visibly on him, making him hunch more like a caged animal.

Haunted eyes raked over the lair, Raph looked for anything out of place. It was like walking out of a nightmare. His family slumbered in their rooms, the lair warm and inviting as usual, yet it made him twitchy. The lives he had taken, the murders he had just committed would now be the second major secret he had kept from his family. This one so dark and horrid he would never be able to speak of it.

With a shudder Raph closed his eyes and remembered Raj, the ethereal boy, the spirit naga, he had loved and lost in the span of a single night nearly two years ago when he and his brothers had been changed into humans and left in an orphanage. He had never spoken of his affections for the boy in the spirit paths, never breathed a word of the intimate exchange they had had there. But, where Raj had given him hope, this night had taken everything from him, save despair.

* * *

><p>... to be continued.<p> 


End file.
